Less Than Human: Harpuia's story
by K. Pepper
Summary: Sage Harpuia has his hands full running Neo-Arcadia after Omega-X's death. What will happen when a mysterious newcomer reveals an outside threat that makes the war with the Resistance appear petty? This fic is from the point of view of Sage Harpuia.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own MegaMan Zero or anything else of Capcom's. Not that that was ever in question. Read, enjoy, and review please. (And feel free to point out any spelling or grammatical errors. I proof-read pretty thoroughly, but I probably missed some.) I've never put anything online before, so support would be nice. (And if it sucks, tell me so!) This may not get updated very often, but to make up for it, I will have long chapters when I do.

_Less Than Human: Harpuia's Story_

By Rioni Riishu

By now, I was beginning to get used to the hollow emptiness that pervaded my being. It really had not taken a long time. Perhaps it was always there, and I simply had had no time to think about it prior to certain unfortunate events. What was worse was the fact that I was no longer positive that those events were altogether unfortunate. If the death of the cause I had worked and sacrificed so much for was truly a good thing, than my "life," as it were, was completely worthless up until this point. Beyond this point, I supposed it was my decision to make, and with that, the realization came to me that I had made few of my own decisions in the past.

At least before now I had had _something_. I was the guardian of the individual I had thought to be most important. The copy of MegaMan X and his idealistic view of human society seemed as righteous a mission as I could find, but in his death I was left with more questions than I thought were likely to be answered in one lifetime. Of course, as a reploid it was feasible that my existence could span several. In my hindsight I could see the flaws in Copy X's ideals, and though I assumed that my duty would naturally be to become a guardian of Neo-Arcadia itself, I wanted to decipher the fact from the fiction first.

It struck me as odd that the legendary maverick hunter Zero was the one to destroy Copy X, when the original X had been his friend and brother in arms. Zero had found Copy X's utopia to be flawed, and I was beginning to as well. But then, what would I, a mere reploid, know? I felt I was only a mockery of human kind. I found myself wondering just how involved the humans were in this war. Too many questions. Common sense told me that the humans were no more innocent than the warring factions of reploids. Other than trying to steal power sources from the Resistance forces, it seemed as though something else was on the government's agenda, and whatever it was, they were intent on keeping it more than a little discreet.

I do not know how Leviathan and Fefnir felt about the matter, or if they even suspected anything at all. The fact was, I did not expect them to share any feelings with me because they thought much differently than I did. I was more than a reploid, but less than human, and if any one truly knew that, I would never belong in a society with either one.

Regardless of my reservations and persistent indecision, I did have one course of action that, after some consideration, I felt it, if not prudent, than potentially enlightening to take. I had no idea what my purpose was in my creation; if there was any prior programming to that end it had been thoroughly wiped out, along with the rest of my memory, before I had even become a Guardian. No, my loyalty toward the humans ran deeper than programming. Though I did not know why, I was created to look, feel, act, and function as a human being. I had covered that up quite well for most of my remembered life, but while most other reploids could phase out the most cumbersome or not normally necessary parts of their armor, I could dispense with _all_ of it.

I stood now, nude in my quarters, considering how to best dress myself to be inconspicuous. Since it was not something that I normally concerned myself with, I wanted to make sure that I did not thwart my own efforts by poor fashion sense. I caught my reflection in the polished metal of the wall. A near-perfect physique, of course- who would wish to create something obviously flawed? Long, pale green hair, which, to my knowledge, no one else had ever even seen, hung about my face. I determined to pull it back in a ponytail at the least, or the style may have appeared a bit feminine. I may be a reploid, but I still have pride in my masculinity. Vivid green eyes glared back at me from my reflection. I _did_ look completely human. The arrow-shaped tattoos on my cheeks seemed a bit conspicuous, but I did not think that they would be a problem.

The clothing that I had acquired from a few random sources was basic and nondescript. I had my choice of several colors of T-shirt; blue, black, and Khaki pants, and three different - and rather ugly- jackets. I chose the least painful to look at, a brown leather one that was probably expensive but ugly just the same. That, coupled with a white T-shirt and a pair of blue jeans completed my outfit, and I looked again at my reflection in wall. Fortunately, the jacket looked better on me than it did lying on the bed. I knew that no one would suspect anything was amiss with my wardrobe, although I was dissatisfied with one thing. My boxers were bunched. This was going to take some getting used to.

Sneaking out of the base without being seen, especially by Leviathan and Fefnir, proved to be a bit easier than I had feared, though not by much. If I phased my armor on again, I would destroy my clothing, so that was out of the question. Fefnir was probably training, as usual, and thus easy to avoid. Leviathan was normally rather unobservant, but on the chance that she was wandering around- which she was wont to do- I did not want my cover to be blown, nor did I care to explain to explain to Fefnir or Leviathan what I was doing and why. My human appearance was another subject for argument altogether.

My biggest threat to exposure was the reploids who worked under us in the base. It was unlikely that they would fail to notice me, and I was sure that there were plenty of them around. The hallway outside my quarters was deserted, and I was grateful, for the whole mission could have ended right there if someone had been out there. Most of the lights in the base were dimmed because of the inactivity of the hour, and I hugged the wall as I made my way through the maze of corridors. Twice I had to stop short and wait until the footsteps and voices of other soldiers faded away.

I was nearing one of the lesser used exits when I spotted Fefnir moving toward me. I ducked back into the shadows and bit my lower lip in frustration. I began to move back the way I had come, but I heard Leviathan call out from behind me.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going?"

I froze, and that is probably what saved me from discovery.

Fefnir glanced over his shoulder. "Why do you always have to ask such stupid questions?"

I ducked behind a trash bin as Leviathan walked by, oblivious.

"Relax, Fefnir. You're way too high-strung. Anyway, have you seen Harpuia? I thought he was in his room, but he didn't come to the door."

"Leave him alone, will you? He probably wants to get away from you."

The conversation moved away, and I punched in the key code and slipped out the exit, smiling slightly at Fefnir and Leviathan's sibling-like squabbling. At times I thought that mentally they seemed like children. I did not normally mind, although I could not honestly say I would miss Leviathan's constant following me around. At times I wondered if she had some kind of psychotic crush on me, and I did not like it. Fortunately, at least for me, she recently had developed more of an obsession with Zero, which, frankly, was good for me but, to be blunt, sucked for him. Especially since she also wanted to kill him, which was not too likely to happen.

Leviathan, Zero, and Fefnir aside, I was out now, and knew easily where to go and where not to go to avoid trouble. It did not take an extraordinary amount of effort on my part to get beyond the parameter of the base and into the city limits. I was surprised at how much freedom I felt, for the first time having no real obligations or responsibilities. With this came the feeling of slight confusion and unease, my burden of command being lifted off my shoulders. It was almost overwhelming. Although I had a purpose and a goal, I could reach them by my own means and at my own leisure.

Getting into the human populated region of Neo-Arcadia proved not to be too terribly difficult. Finding out what the Neo-Arcadian government was doing seemed nearly impossible. I decided to try to start with something basic; I wanted to know how the general population viewed the reploids, both Neo-Arcadian and Resistance. I was not sure how to go about it since it did not seem a normal thing to ask to a random person. I tried for a time to pick up bits and pieces of conversations around me, but none centered upon a relevant subject. I was at a loss. I had a goal, but no path on which to get there.I had only begun, but it already appeared to be a dead end.

I sat down upon an iron bench, silent and pensive for the time being. I wished to rest my mind, but even in sleep my thoughts whirled in cyclonic chaos in the form of senseless dreams. There was no easy way to accomplish what I needed, and the few ideas that came to mind would require me to be gone from the base for a maximum of several years. I only hoped Fefnir and Leviathan did not create any trouble while looking for me.

I was beginning to see my poorly thought-out mission as a complete failure but was startled from my thoughts by explosions and the sounds of general chaos and panic. A fair sized reploid of a make I had never seen emerged from around a corner, taking a large chunk of the corner with it. It took things a moment to register clearly in my mind, and when they did I was only more confused. I knew it was not one of my own gone maverick. I had never seen anything quite like this reploid before. For that matter, I knew the Resistance did not have anything like that either, and from what I knew of their leaders, they would never allow a direct attack on humans.

He bore some resemblance to a demonic beast of archaic portrayal, with skeletal wings spread behind him and thick limbs and torso which had a pseudo-muscular appearance. The head curved over in reminiscence of a snake's, but the resemblance ended there. Two spikes stood out from the top of his head that could have represented either ears or horns. The face had no human quality, completely metal-plated and shaped like some sort of animal. Burning red pupil-less eyes gleamed with a deadly anger. A powerful jagged-armored tail whipped about behind it, taking out chunks of the wall. Long blue talons of glowing energy protruded from its fingers and toes.

The design was mostly intended to intimidate. More specifically, the demon form of it seemed to point more toward striking fear into humans in particular. The thing roared and a series of dull blue tattoos over its body began glowing a brighter aqua. Energy concentrated at its mouth for a moment, and then it fired a gleaming plasma ball in my general direction. I dove from the bench, which was ripped from its bolts and crashed away. I had hidden my energy blades on my person, not expecting to need them, but wanting them anyway. I did not want to give myself away by phasing my armor on, but at this point I was not sure I had a choice.

My brief indecision, however, brought another savior to the situation besides myself. A reploid in fiery orange armor ran around the corner behind the monstrous creature and slashed at it with two scintillating blue blades. Again, this reploid seemed different than most other designs, though for different reasons than the demon. She was humanoid, more so in fact than most other reploids other than myself. The fact that the reploid was a combatant _and_ a female was a rarity in itself, Leviathan being the only other one I knew personally. Her armor left her midriff exposed, along with her right upper leg and left upper arm. Her helmet appeared almost incomplete, covering a little more than half of her head. One eye was masked behind a black visor, the other being exposed and narrowed angrily at her opponent. Long dark hair hung from beneath her helmet and around her face all the way to the small of her back.

The demon snarled at her, but she did not flinch. The expression on her face was so cold, that I was not sure which of the two looked more deadly. The devil-beast smacked the girl with its tail, catching her across the chest and sending her flying into the wall. She got up a bit slowly, the blow having disoriented her more than I would have thought. The monster saw its opening and attacked. Its huge body dwarfed her small form and I could not see what was happening. I was about to charge in myself when the creature's head rolled from its shoulders, sparking and leaking dark mechanical fluids across the sidewalk.

The victor stood, met my gaze for a brief moment, and turned away. The people who were still around me broke their silence. A man hurled a chunk of cement at the city's orange- clad savior.

"Take your war someplace else! Get out of our city!"

She turned and speared him with a sharp glare, answering in a surprisingly clear voice. "You are all fools. That thing would have destroyed all of you if not for me."

"And you led it here," Someone else called out. More objects began flying at the female reploid, and she disappeared around the corner. _Well, there's one question answered. The mentality toward reploids here is not good, to say the least_. I sprinted around the corner after the reploid. I felt that she may have some of the answers that I sought, but I was not sure what I needed to ask. It did not matter. She was already gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nothing of Capcom's is mine. Nothing of mine is Capcom's.

Thanks to all those who reviewed. It is much appreciated, and it gives me the inspiration that I need to write, knowing that someone is actually reading all of my hard work.

Chapter 2

Predictably, I had to abide Leviathan's slew of questions- more of an interrogation, really- when I returned. It had been four days since the attack in Neo-Arcadia, and the persistent female was not letting me out of her sight. I was on the verge of a mental breakdown because of her continuous drilling me for information. I had decided to return to the base and find out what I could about the mechanical demon I had witnessed. My personal questions would have to wait if there was a forthcoming danger to deal with. I had been spending most of my time locked in my room, partially to analyze the creature's disembodied head, which I had lifted from the scene, and partially- mostly- to seek solitude from my water-loving companion.

Leviathan was now who-knew-where, and I decided to join Fefnir in some combat training- more of a warm up, really. The red reploid was presently using his arm-mounted fire buster- a novelty which seemed less useful and more ornamental- to idly torch the targets and training drones that floated lazily in the shooting gallery.

"You're pretty hard on the equipment, Fefnir. Maybe you should take it easy."

He glanced up at me, his slight quirk of a sadistic smile tugging his dark features into a less-than-charming expression.

"Don't reprimand _me_, Harpuia. I've seen you when you get going in here."

I frowned. "That's a bit different. You're pretty much shooting fish in a barrel.

Fefnir snorted. "That's pretty much _all_ there is to do. It doesn't matter what setting you use." A wicked grin spread across his features, distorting the slash-like tattoos on his face. "Of course, there _are_ other ways to train..."

I crossed my arms. "After the beating I gave you the last time, I would've thought you'd give up."

"You got lucky. Now c'mon, one on one. No weapons."

I sighed. "Fine. And that includes your fire buster."

"You're no fun."

"I never claimed to be." I moved to the partially-padded center of the room, and Fefnir followed. We turned to face each other.

Oh, and Harpuia?"

"Yeah?"

"No flying." Fefnir moved into a fighting stance, placing the bulk of his weight in a central balance.

I stayed light on my feet, wanting the extra agility. I knew that Fefnir would normally take the offensive, forcing me to defend until he worked me back into a corner. I did not intend to let him have that edge.

I feinted a right hook, broadcasting my direction, and then switched to a snap kick which I landed square into Fefnir's stomach. The blow would have easily knocked the wind out of a breathing individual, but he and I could take a lot of punishment. He went down hard and yanked my right leg out from under me as he fell. I landed on my back and attempted to spring up onto my feet, but he held tightly onto my ankle, and all I managed to do was kick his hand away and roll over onto my side. We both jumped up and faced each other again.

"Gettin' rusty, Harpuia," Fefnir laughed.

"What about you?" I shot back. "You fell for the right hook feint again." I laughed.

Fefnir threw a couple of right and left jabs at me and feinted a kick. I dodged and attempted to counter with a back fist, but he caught me across the side of the face with a glancing blow. I reeled back and used the momentum for a sweeping kick that took his legs out from under him. I raised my fist for a controlled punch that would name me the winner of the match.

"Harpuia!" I looked up to see Leviathan stride into the room. Fefnir unceremoniously dumped me to the ground and threw a punch which stopped a few centimeters from my nose.

"Match!" Fefnir cried gleefully.

"Opportunist," I muttered. I knew that it was my own fault for being distracted, but it was still cheap on Fefnir's account. I glared at the cause of my loss. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can," She answered, apparently missing the sarcastictone of my voice. "You can start by telling me where you found that _thing_."

"Thing?" I blinked. "What 'thing?'"

"You know, the whatchacallit." She rolled her eyes. "You _know_ what I'm talking about."

I thought for a moment. "Are we on the same page here?"

"I don't think you're even reading the same book," Fefnir commented dryly.

"Shut up Fefnir, nobody asked you." She crossed her arms. "That chip you had me analyze. I give up. Where's it from? Or what's it from, more specifically."

I sighed inwardly. I had given the chip to her to keep her out of my hair for awhile. I never expected her to actually comply with my request. I opted to ignore her questions and ask one of my own instead. "What did you find out?"

She made a face that appeared a bit too close to a pout for my tolerance. "Well, it's not any make that _I've_ ever seen."

I bit my lower lip and fought back a sarcastic reply. "That, I already knew. That's not what I asked you to find out."

"Well, if it's from a reploid, the energy readings are normal. Nothing very powerful, I'd assume. It also appears to be mass-produced, but it runs from a completely different operating system than anything else I've run into." She uncrossed her arms and crossed them the other way. "That's all I could get out of it since it's not very compatible with our systems."

_Mass-produced?_ I thought. _Great. Just the face I want to run into again._ "Well, thanks for what info you _did_ get out of it," I said aloud, though not really meaning it. I turned to go.

"Wait!" Leviathan deliberately blocked my path. "You didn't answer me. What is it from?" She enunciated each word strongly in her last sentence.

I knew I was caught this time. I would have to show her the demon's head- what remained of it after my tampering, anyway- and quickly come up with some sort of alibi so I would not have to reveal my recent activities. "It came from a reploid- or perhaps just a robot, from what you told me, that I encountered while I was gone." I mentally braced myself. _Here it comes..._

"Yeah, about that," Leviathan complained, proving my fears correct. I winced "Where did you go?"

I physically bit my tongue. I was not letting her drag it out of me.

"For once, I'm with Leviathan," Fefnir grumbled. "C'mon, you owe us an explanation."

"Aw, not you _too_, Fefnir. Leviathan's harping is _enough_." I regretted the outburst even before it was completely out of my mouth. Now they would really be on my case, if only because I had gotten so defensive about it.

"Whoa, chill out, Harp. It's not like we're accusing you of anything." He looked at me suspiciously. "That's assuming you didn't do something we don't know about..."

I closed my eyes and bit my lower lip, which I realized had developed into a habit that I did whenever I was frustrated. "First, I ame your superior and owe you no explanation of any of my actions. Second, don't ever call me 'Harp' again, and third, no, I didn't do anything. At least not of the type you seem to be suggesting." The doubled force of their accusatory glares was unrelenting. I threw up my hands in exasperation. "Fine. I was in Neo-Arcadia."

"We _are_ in Neo-Arcadia." That was Fefnir.

"No, I mean the human city."

"What were you doing _there_," Leviathan quarried incredulously.

"Just call it a premonition," I lied. "I felt like something was going to happen." I decided that I was at least telling a half-truth, and therefore could be as misleading as I wanted. "A demon-like reploid attacked in the central area of the city. I'm not sure what his purpose was other than destruction. I brought his head back with me to analyze what I could. That's were the chip came from." I prayed that they did not ask me how I got that far into the city without being noticed.

"So, you played hero and destroyed it, then," Leviathan concluded.

For some odd reason, I felt embarrassed. "Uh... no, actually. Another reploid in orange armor decapitated it before I had a chance to react."

"Ha!" Fefnir crowed. "I get it. You're so uptight because someone beat you to the scene. You really are gettin' rusty." I chose to ignore him. "Well, I get you now. There's no action since Zero left the resistance."

Leviathan pouted. "I wanted to retire him myself."

"Sure you did," Fefnir said casually. "Fat chance you could, anyway. That's my job."

Leviathan _hrmphed_ and turned her back on him. "So, who was this other reploid, anyway?"

I shook my head. "Don't know. I tried to catch up to her, but she'd disappeared. I couldn't find any sign of her after that."

Leviathan placed her hands on her hips. "So that's it. You've been chasing some girl around all this time."

"You haven't heard a word I've been saying, have you?" I sighed. "And what's this 'all this time?' I was only gone for one day!"

Eventually, I made my way to my quarters, but my comrades were not about to give me the peace I desired. For the most part, I tuned out a good share of what was said, absorbed in my own thoughts at present _So, the demon wasn't a reploid after all. If they're being mass-produced, than they're really nothing but weaponry. But if that's the case, who's producing it? we're not, and I'd bet half my sanity that it's not the Resistance, either. That leaves the Neo-Arcadian government, but if that's so, than they've acquired new designs and technology of a quality I've never seen from them. And all that aside, if it were theirs, why would they have it attack they're own city? Or is there something I'm not seeing here?_

My mind flew back to the present, and I realized that Leviathan was talking. Fortunately, she was speaking at me rather than to me, therefore my lack of response went unnoticed. We were in my room by now, and the two were examining the mutilated mechanical head with great interest.

"...Pick apart the brain and see if I can't download part of the operating system. And these ocular sensors are unique to anything else I've..." Leviathan was prattling on like a rookie with his first assignment. I decided then and there that I would let her take the whole thing to work on, thus leaving me be for at least a couple of days.

"Are there any more like this one?" Fefnir inquired, not as easily appeased as Leviathan. "I'd like to see how they are in combat."

My mouth twitched into a wry, fleeting smile. "Well, if I find anymore I'll be sure to let you know." I managed to dismiss them out the door, adding, "As soon as I have an idea of where to start, I'll be hunting them."

"You mean you're gonna disappear on us again," Leviathan accused.

"Pretty much." I reached for the button to close the door.

"Warn us first this time," Fefnir chided.

"Let me think... uh, probably not." I closed the door before either one could begin another argument. At least under the pretext of demon-hunting, I may be able to get away with being gone without quite the amount of controversy over it as last time. Honestly, I did not believe that I would find a direct enough clue to the origin of the demons to begin a search, nor did I think it relevant. I did, however, still intend to continue my search for answers.

Late that night, I again donned my human guise and hoped that perhaps my colleagues were resting and I could sneak out unnoticed. The last time, I had not counted on the fact that they would be about so early, but this time I was satisfied that I knew their routines and could slip out without a commotion. Fortunately, my assumptions were correct, and by dawn I was again in the human city.

I found myself presently in the factory district, which was not entirely unintentional. Since I could think of no other source that the mechanical monstrosity fro the other day could have come from, I decided to see if I could find any sign of production within the city limits. I had my doubts, but it was something to go on, and at this point I was ready to accept nearly anything. To my knowledge, most of the factories had ceased production of goods and shut down. If nothing else, I at least intended to find out why.

I headed toward one of the narrow alleys between buildings, rather intent on finding a window or door that I could get into without too much trouble. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another figure dart out of sight and apparently into a factory. I was quite sure that that particular one was beyond use, and so my curiosity, as much as I could be said to have, was aroused.

I followed cautiously, looking over my shoulder and minding my peripheral vision, not sure what sort of trouble I would face if I were caught. The side door into the unused factory was unlocked, possibly broken, and swung inward by the rather old-fashion means of hinges. Although it was quite dark inside, I had little trouble seeing, my eyes being able to fully use the small amount of light available better than a human's. The large room was relatively empty, save for a few forgotten, broken down machines. From what was there, it appeared to have once been used for the creation of robots or reploids. I assumed the former, since New-Arcadian hierarchy looked rather unkindly upon the later.

A small object on the floor caught my attention, and I knelt to pick it up. It was a scrap of metal, unremarkable at a glance, but on it was part of a dull blue tattoo. An image flashed in my mind of the demon's tattoos flaring a bright turquoise as it charged its energy shot. _Is there a connection between them and this place? Were they being created here...?_ I froze when I heard a minuscule noise and felt a presence behind me. I turned around slowly, and was met by a blade of blue energy pointed at my throat. I stared into the face of the fiery armored reploid who had incapacitated the demon the last time that I was in Neo-Arcadia.

"I'm not your enemy," I stated reasonably.

She smiled coolly. "You don't really know that, do you?"

I met her cold, brown-eyed stare and tried not to think of what happened to the last one who she had pointed those blades at. I imagined that she could decapitate me just as easily without a second thought. Could, and would as well. "Why don't you tell me who you are, and then I'll know if you're my enemy or not." I knew that she was not about to back down, but neither was I. _Why do I feel that this could end in tragedy..._

"I'll make it easy for you." She grinned. I supposed that is was supposed to be cold, but there was something rather innocent about it. It was a bit disconcerting. "I _am_ your enemy."

It was all the prompting I needed. With reflex honed by time and practice, I whipped my sabers into my hands and activated them, catching her single blade with my two. She activated her other blade and disentangled the first weapon from mine. I pushed back against the force of the clash and flipped backwards, using the momentary distance to activate my armor. All that I really had to do was want it to be there, and it would be, and extension of myself. My vision turned white and hazy for a split second, and I knew that my opponent was also briefly blinded by the light I was emitting.

"As I thought," she said coldly. "You are the guardian Harpuia, are you not?"

"I am."

I shrugged out of the remains of my tattered shirt and kicked off the rest of my clothing. In this case, it was worth the sacrifice.

My attacker rushed at me with her blades held down and pointed back, intent on slashing at the last moment. I brought mine up in a defensive maneuver and sidestepped to my right. She veered to her right, half turning to circle part-way around me and bring a sword across my neck. I anticipated the blow and blocked it over my shoulder without looking. _So, you always go for the neck, huh?_ I used the force of the saber-lock for momentum in a spin that ended with me facing my attacker. She parried my clumsy swing and struck at me with her left-hand weapon.

"So, you're with the Resistance, then," I growled, pushing back forcibly against her parry. The power of my thrust shoved her back, and she stumbled.

To my surprise, she laughed. "You think I'm with those idiots? All they want is the destruction of Neo-Arcadia." She slashed at me with both blades, one of which I blocked, and the other I avoided. "The morons actually believe that that will bring 'peace,' whatever that means."

I took the offensive, locking both of my blades hard against hers. Red clashed against blue, and angry sparks flew from the disturbance. "Then why fight me? I'm a defender of Neo-Arcadia," I said over the minuscule fireworks display. "What have I done to earn your enmity?"

"You," she ground out through gritted teeth, "are responsible for the deaths of thousands of reploids." With a sudden burst of strength, she pushed my blades back and threw a flurry of attacks. "Do you really think that you have the right to play god and decide who lives and who dies?"

I parried her blows and blocked the last one so that we both lost one of our swords. "Then you're in it for yourself."

She punched me across the face with her free hand. "You could look at it that way, or you could say I'm in it for everybody."

"If you're in it for everybody, than who are you to make judgment calls against me?" I was more than a little angered by now. I had been intrigued by the stranger at first, but now she had proven herself nothing but a selfish mercenary. "You think it fair to kill me. I thought it right to retire the maverick reploids. Maybe someone will decide that you need to die as well. Who are you to decide whether or not my sins are too great?" I crushed her free fist in mine and her face contorted in pain. I pushed against her remaining saber. "Who's playing god now?" She was losing ground.

"Those reploids weren't maverick and you know it." Even though my strength was far superior to hers, she continued to fight.

"Sacrifices must be made in the name of peace." I forced her to drop her blade.

"That's not a peace I want!" She attempted to wrench her fist away from my grip, but I held on tightly.

I held my sword at her throat. "The only question now is whether I retire you right here or throw you in a cell on the base." _She may still have some answers yet... Perhaps I should keep her alive,_ I decided.

"Go on, kill me," She said darkly. "Isn't that your whole philosophy? Destroy all who get in your way?"

"You would have done the same to me..." I froze, knowing that I had heard a faint noise, but not sure where it had come from. I glanced around the room quickly, but saw nothing. The girl pulled her hand away from my half-hearted grasp and backed away from the glowing beam at her throat.

From the corner of my eye, I saw a flare of blue energy, and then we were both engulfed in an incandescent plasma ball. I put my arms up in a cross-block to shield myself from the worst of the blast, but the roiling energy threw my opponent across the floor where she lay stunned. I turned to face this new threat, but he had disappeared again. Regardless, there was no doubt in my mind as to the nature of the attacker. I scanned the room and thought I caught a flicker of blue in a shadowed area littered with derelict machinery. I grabbed another blade from the floor, although it was not my own, and charged after the demon. It raised its skeletal wings and with a crackle of power, they formed a blue web of energy between the empty spokes, giving them a draconian appearance.

It took to the air, and I followed, the boosters on my back propelling me up and over the black robot. I somersaulted in the air and charged in behind it, making it all as smooth as one graceful leap. I had the advantage of speed in this battle, since I did not have cumbersome wings to flap. The creature roared, a sound like grating metal, and slashed at me with first its right arm, then its left. I dodged the strikes and thrust downward across his chest, leaving a smoking gash. He roared again, showing knife-like teeth.

I had to admit, he was intimidating. I knew that I was around six foot-two, and he towered over me by at least three or four feet. By sheer mass, he looked as though he could crush granite. He lunged at me, snapping powerful jaws that could have easily taken my arm off, had I not moved. I struck at his face and left another dark gash over the snarling muzzle. He whirled away from me, as though to flee. A realization struck me- just before his tail did. _I forgot about the tail-_ The jagged, spine-like armor punctured the armor of my lower torso, and pain shot through my body. I hit the wall hard and fell to the floor. Pain ripped at my stomach, and I wondered how deeply the spikes had penetrated. The wound would have been mortal for a human.

I rose to my knees in time to see the beast headed for the unconscious reploid on the floor. My system's self-repair function was already kicking in and I could feel the incisions in my abdomen closing. I wiped "blood," for lack of a better word, from the white armor on my mid-section before rising and charging after the dark mechanical monster.

It seemed intent on destroying the girl, as though I was only an afterthought. I stabbed the two blades into its back and pulled in opposite directions, slicing it vertically. It fell away from the woman's still form and spread a large, black pool over the floor. I leaned over the reploid, and she stirred.

"Why did you save me? I'm your opponent." She seemed angry, yet puzzled.

"Exactly," I answered. "You're _my_ opponent. Therefore I'd rather finish you myself, in a fair match."

"What a comfort," she responded dryly. "I feel so much better." And with that, she lapsed into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer; by now you all know what I own and I don't. Anyway, I must appolagize because I just realized that the bloody computer has been taking my italics off when I upload, making Harpuia's thoughts a bit hard to follow. I have gone back and fixed that in previous chapters. Again, thanks to my reviewers. You're all great, and (hopefully) so honest, too. If anyone has a problem with what I write, tell me. Maybe we can meet on equal ground. Anyway, this is a small aside that is really kind of irrelevant, but I have officially decided that "Crawling in the Dark" by Hoobastank is Harpuia's theme. It just fits him so well for this fic. The orange reploid, who's name is revealed later in this chapter, has "My December" by Linkin Park for a theme. If anyone is too lazy to look up lyrics online, them e-mail me and I'll send 'em. Later!

Chapter 3  
  
I picked the girl up and threw her over my shoulder. She weighed very little for a reploid, and did not encumber my flight back to the base in the least. I planned to interrogate her, since she and the demons always seemed to turn up at the same time. I was beginning to think that one had a vendetta against the other. I also would have rather liked to know precisely what she had against me. If it was true that she was for both sides, I had trouble understanding what was so gravely wrong with what I had done. It was nothing worse than what the Resistance had done to us. I wondered belatedly if that was the point.  
  
By the time I had put her in a holding cell, she was beginning to stir, but I thought it best to let her recover completely before I attempted to force information from her. I thought I caught a glimpse of her angry glare right before I shut the metal door. I turned, only to nearly collide with Fairy Leviathan. I made a strange sound in the back of my throat.  
  
"Can I help you?" I particularly did _not_ feel up to a conversation with her at the moment.  
  
"So _that_ was the skirt you've been chasing," she sniffed rather self-righteously.  
  
"Get over it, Leviathan, she has information we need. I'll kill her myself when I'm done." I attempted to step around her.  
  
"Like I'm gonna believe _that_." She planted herself in front of me yet again. "Don't walk away from me. I thought that you wanted the analysis results of that robot?"  
  
I sighed and nodded. So much for keeping her busy for a few days. "What did you find?"  
  
"They have a hive mind."  
  
"Well," I mused out loud. "That would explain why they seem to hold a grudge against the orange reploid." I paused. "Anything else?"  
  
"No, not really. I'm gonna go work on it some more."  
  
_Yes. Another day of peace.  
_  
My "peace" was rather short-lived when I went back to the holding cell to check on the occupant. The door was open, but a strange, amber-colored force-field was in place. Leviathan sat sullenly on the other side.  
  
"...Wha?" I stared mutely for a moment. "Okay, I don't even want to _know_ what happened," I decided aloud. "Let's just get you out of there."  
  
I tapped the force-field with one finger. An electrical charge shot through my body and dropped me to my knees. I heard Fefnir's low chuckle behind me.  
  
"Well, isn't this an interesting picture."  
  
"Fefnir, if you don't shut up, I swear I'll retire _you_ when I get out of here," Leviathan yelled, pacing like a caged tiger.  
  
I noticed a small disc on the floor from which the shield was coming. Unfortunately, the shield covered that, too. Fefnir and I examined this for awhile, and then Fefnir stood up.  
  
"Stand back, I'm gonna body-slam it!"  
  
"You're _what_?!" Leviathan and I cried in unison.  
  
Fefnir crashed into the glimmering wall and was thrown across the hall with a yell.  
  
"Great idea, Fefnir. And if you had gone through, then what?" I commented dryly, trying my very hardest not to laugh at my friend's misfortune.  
  
"All right, I'm gettin' my flame thrower..." Fefnir aimed the massive gun at the barrier.  
  
"Uh..." I began.  
  
"No, don't!" Leviathan wailed pathetically.  
  
"Well, what do you suggest?" he grumbled.  
  
"I dunno, get a maintenance crew down here or something," I shrugged. "I've gotta go after the escapee."  
  
"What?" You're leaving me here?" The distraught blue reploid cried.  
  
"Hey, I tried. There's nothing I can do." I crept away as I spoke.  
  
"SAGE!" Leviathan roared. _Oh, crap, not the first name...  
_  
"Fine," I said, defeated.  
  
"Get me out of here," she whined. The force-field flickered and went out. "Urk..." Leviathan stepped through the doorway cautiously. "What... wha...?"  
  
I pointed at the disc on the floor. "Examine that. I'm leaving." Without another word, I sprinted away from Leviathan's protests.  
  
When I was completely away from the base, I had to laugh. The whole situation was so preposterous and unrealistic that it was amusing. I decided that I would have to ask my escaped prisoner exactly what had transpired in my absence. I had a feeling that somehow Leviathan had gotten what was coming to her. _Good ol' Fairy,_ I thought to myself. _It's a good thing she's good with electronics, or I'm not sure what I'd do with her.  
_  
It was not that I disliked her or Fefnir. _Fighting Fefnir_, I corrected myself. I had never taken to calling him by his first name. It just sounded a bit... odd. It was just that I had so much on my mind, and their usual antics seemed so shallow and unimportant. With the brief reprieve in the fighting between the Resistance and New-Arcadia, they were like children on summer vacation, possessed with all the time in the world and nothing to do with it.  
  
The words of the orange reploid haunted me. "..._They weren't maverick and you knew it!"_ The disturbing thought was that she was right. The Neo-Arcadian government had labeled reploids as "inferior citizens" and had then sent them to concentration camps to be "retired." I cannot deny that the thought had crossed my mind that a similar fate may await me and my companions once complete victory had been achieved for Neo-Arcadia. I had not had much hand in the concentration camps, but when the Resistance grew and rose against us I led my armies against them for a devastating victory. I had killed hundreds myself and I knew their blood was on my hands  
  
_What were they supposed to do?_ I reflected. _Just roll over and die?_ I had had silent reservations against my orders when copy X had given them to me, but had decided, as I told the reploid woman in the fiery armor, sacrifices must be made in the name of peace. _Is that really peace?_ I wondered. _Not for the reploids, that's for sure.  
  
_ I was so deep in thought as I flew that I did not notice the ambush until I was shot from the sky. _The Resistance_- The energy weapon struck my right booster and sent me careening to the ground. I blacked out for a brief moment, but I could still hear voices around me.  
  
"...Thought we'd catch someone with this ambush, but I never thought we'd get Harpuia." There was a hint of fear in his voice. "Retire him now, before he wakes up. This could score a huge victory for the Resistance."  
  
_This isn't like them_, I mused, trying to open my eyes. My head hurt so _much_. _They've become much more aggressive_. I attempted to get up, but only managed to move my arm and my head. I must have fallen almost two-hundred feet... I groaned. My carelessness was about to get me killed.  
  
"I'd leave 'em be if I were you, boys." It was a female voice, and even though I was not thinking all too clearly at the moment, I knew who it belonged to. _Well, at least I caught up with her...  
_  
"A- are you with him?" one said shakily. "You'd better not try to stop us. We're one of the Resistance's finest regiments!"  
  
"Charmed." I could easily picture the look of disdain on her face. "And for the record, I'm not with this genocidal maniac."  
  
_Genocidal maniac? Well, she has an interesting idea of me. That would explain the angst.  
_  
I heard the shuffle of feet around me. "Well... than why shouldn't we kill him?" _So nice to be included in this pivotal conversation_. I decided that hearing about one's impending doom while lying immobile on the ground was not an experience that I cared to repeat, not that I would evidently have the chance.  
  
"You know," my unlikely savior mused in a thoughtful voice, "there are two other guardians. I'm sure that they would be a bit... unhappy at the death of their commander. They may want revenge..."  
  
At this point, I was not sure what was going on, but I thought I heard the woman tell the reploids that she would take care of me herself. I finally forced my eyes open and looked around. Everything looked hazy, but I could see that I was now alone with the orange reploid.  
  
"Just how far did you fall, anyway?" she questioned, siting cross-legged next to me.  
  
"About two-hundred feet," I mumbled. I was glad that I was incapable of being ill, since I had nothing in my stomach to disgorge. My head pounded.  
  
She whistled through her teeth. "Well, I'll say this for ya- your well-made."  
  
"Uh, thanks... I think." I sat up and blew my breath out in a long sigh which became a hiss of pain. I put a hand on my forehead, not that it helped. "I have what will probably amount to a stupid question," I managed.  
  
I thought I heard her laugh. "Let me guess; why did I save you?"  
  
"Yeah, that- that's pretty much it." My self-repair systems were beginning to kick in, but I did not feel much better.  
  
She stood up. "You saved me so we could finish this with a fair dual. Now I'm waiting for you to recover yourself so that I may honor your request."  
  
I stood and tested out my leaden limbs. "Oh, by the way..."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Genocidal maniac?" I shrugged, a gesture that caused pain to shoot up my spine. I cringed. "A little harsh, don't you think?"   
  
"I suppose it would be," she said, arms crossed, "if it weren't true."  
  
"You have quite the ...uh... impression of me," I said, trying to think clearly. I wondered if a reploid could suffer a concussion. "Do you actually think I call all the shots around here? My orders were from X, and not that it's your business, but I did have reservations about them."  
  
"Sure, blame it on the deceased." She rolled her eyes, but I thought she seemed to relax a bit. "Who gives your orders now?"  
  
"Why should I volunteer any information to the likes of you?" I stumbled a bit and decided to sit back down. "Here's a thought; go away. To put it bluntly, I don't particularly feel up to a tactical discussion at the moment."  
  
She chuckled. "I'm just making conversation. I'm only waiting around to finish our match. But, I suppose, if you're really not feeling up to it, I could just leave you to the metal scavengers..."  
  
_She would put it that way._ "You're a cold one," I muttered. "I just fell two-hundred feet, and you expect me to fight you."  
  
Sitting down again, she leaned her chin on her knee, letting her arms drape at her sides. She smiled brightly. "Oh, there's no rush. I can wait all day."  
  
I suddenly found myself wishing for Leviathan's company over this present annoyance. "All right. I said this would be a fair fight. In that case, I'll get rid of my upper body armor to even the odds." I phased out half of my armor.  
  
"H- how is that fair?" she puzzled.  
  
"First of all, you can't fly, so neither will I. Second, you have glaring open spots in your defense."  
  
"Such as..."  
  
"Your leg, arm, and stomach." A warm breeze blew through my hair and across my bare skin, and for a moment I wished that I could simply enjoy it. "I'm just giving you a chance, since you wouldn't have one otherwise." I grinned, knowing that she realized that I was insulting her.   
  
"We'll see," she growled. I was treating her the same way I treated Fairy, and although the outward reaction was different, I was still gaining guilty amusement from it.  
  
"Anyway, if this is an 'honorable' fight, than you really should consider giving me your name."  
  
"The name's Mayu. Can we get on with it?"  
  
I was enjoying irritating her as much as she had me. I stuck out my hand. "Sage. Nice to meet you."  
  
She ignored my outstretched hand and looked at me, confused. "Sage? I thought..."  
  
"Yeah, Sage Harpuia. What, you didn't know that?"  
  
"No, can't say I ever did. Or cared, for that matter." She shook her head. "I get it, though. Your screwing with me now because I was harassing you before."  
  
"Very perceptive," I nodded. "Now, shall we get on with it?"  
  
"Hm." She smiled, activating her sabers as I pulled out my own. We did not bother to wait for pleasantries after that. I charged at her and to the left, delivering a glancing blow as I slid by. She blocked, turning to follow my movement, and thrust a blade at my exposed back. I dodged away and slapped the weapon down with an overhead swing. She ducked under it and slide-tackled me, then attempted to roll over and stand up. I pulled a Fefnir and held her foot in an iron grip. She kicked at me vainly.  
  
"Bloody- let go of me!"  
  
I yanked her leg as she attempted to get up again, and she fell back. She struck out with a powerful kick to my nether-regions.  
  
I lost my grip on her ankle. "Hey, that was a pretty low blow."   
  
"Don't whine. You're wearing armor."  
  
_And how grateful I am for that_. I sprung off the ground, ignoring my throbbing head. _This was probably a bad idea on my part_. Mayu brought a back-hand swing around toward my head and I pulled back just in time. I was beginning to feel dizzy.  
  
I kicked out behind me and connected with her exposed stomach. She flew back onto the ground and gasped for breath. _I must've kicked her harder than I thought. It takes quite a bit to knock the wind out of a reploid._ I knew that most reploids did breath, but were not very reliant on it.  
  
I turned to find my adversary, but my vision whited out and I fell to my knees. ..._I over did it..._ I felt, rather than heard the hum of a blade next to my throat. _Always goes for the neck..._ I opened my eyes to see her dark gaze locked on me. She stood for a moment, glaring.  
  
"What, can't do it?" I said hoarsely.  
  
She dropped her blade from my neck. "Who am I to decide who's life to take in exchange for who's."  
  
I stood unsteadily. "Well, there's a change. What brought that on?"  
  
She looked at me from the corner of her eye. "You're not exactly what I thought you were."  
  
"What, a genocidal maniac?"  
  
She laughed, looking away. "Something like that."  
  
I shook my head slightly. "Why don't you join the Neo-Arcadian forces? Maybe you'll find something for yourself there."  
  
She stepped back and looked at me angrily. "And help you slaughter innocent reploids? Forget it."  
  
"I told you," I said earnestly, "those orders came from X, not me."  
  
"Tell me, Sage, would you do anything if it were an order?" she accused.  
  
I looked away solemnly. "I used to."  
  
"Well, admitting it's a start," she shrugged.  
  
"Look, you asked before who was calling the shots now. Well, I am, and I don't do things the same way as X." I phased the rest of my armor back on. "Consider it."  
  
She shrugged. "I'll think about it until next time. If there is one."  
  
"Do I need to throw you in a cell again?" I commented dryly.  
  
"Don't even think about it," she said scornfully. "I don't need your little girlfriend harassing me to quote, 'stay away from you.'"  
  
I choked. "She what?" Swallowing, I bit my lower lip- _I do that a lot_. "Never mind. And please don't refer to her as my girl-friend." I looked her in the eye. "Now I'm begging you to come back with me; just keep her away!"   
  
Mayu laughed. "So, the great Harpuia has girl trouble. Until next time, 'Sage.'"  
  
_Well, that went a bit better than last time, _I thought to myself as we parted ways. At _least she apparently no longer wishes to behead me_. I smiled. _That's always a plus.   
_  
I decided to stay on the ground for awhile. Getting dizzy while flying was not on my to-do list. I did not particularly want to go back to the base, considering what Mayu had said about Leviathan. A childish reason such as that alone would not have kept me from any duties that I need to perform, but it also disturbed me that the ambush squad was still out and about somewhere, lying in wait for my men. I had a feeling that the short reprieve of the fighting was merely the calm before the storm.  
  
As I walked, my head began to feel better and I could think more clearly. I was left wondering why, precisely, I had asked my rival to join me. I doubted that she would; she seemed too much of a free spirit to take orders from a washed up general such as myself.   
  
While I thought, I also kept a sharp eye out for the group of ambushing Resistance soldiers. Since I was only half-conscious when they ran off, I had no idea which direction they may have taken. I was beginning to think that I felt well enough to fly again when one of my own soldiers came running over the next rise. He saluted me quickly, and I noted that his eyes were fearful.  
  
"Sir. The number eight wasteland patrol squad have been attacked by Resistance guerrillas." He gasped, and I realized that he was wounded.  
  
"Stay here and try to save your energy. I'll send a transport to you." I narrowed my eyes at the horizon. "Give me the coordinates of the attack. I'll end this myself."  
  
"Yes sir, here are the coordinates." He displayed them for me on a small computer screen on his wrist.  
  
I nodded to the soldier and leapt into the air, soaring at full speed to the given location. I arrived in the middle of a pitched battle, and it appeared that my squad was on the receiving end of much of the punishment. Swooping in, I cleaved a soldier's head in two, saving the reploid who's face he was about to shoot. Spurting blood, the Resistance troop slid to the ground never to rise again.  
  
At least half of my squad was down, a good share dead, I realized upon a quick survey of the situation. A shot glanced off of my armored back, fortunately doing little damage through the strong metal. _I'd better not take too many shots like that, though_. If enough got through, it would weaken the armor enough to do real damage. I sliced through a soldier's gun-arm and kicked him in the chin. He hit the ground with a pained scream and clutched at the useless, bloodied stump of his right shoulder. One of my men went down next to me to a shot in the neck.  
  
The Resistance forces had been retrained and re-organized, I realized, and I wondered if a new general had been appointed. _With Zero's leaving, it would make sense that they want to make up for lost strength, but it seems that whoever's in charge now has gone from simple defense to more aggressive tactics._ I brought my arm up and blocked a shot that was aimed for my face. Pain lanced from my elbow to my hand, but it did not hurt as much as if it had hit me in the eye. I cut the offending reploid from crotch to nose, and he fell to let his own blood mingle with the rest of the fallen. Their numbers were beginning to dwindle, but my side had suffered heavy casualties as well. I stabbed another reploid, and then beheaded him to save him from a long, agonizing death.  
  
I stood for a moment, pulling air into my artificial lungs. The fighting seemed to be dying down. Suddenly, I noticed the reploid, who's arm I had relieved him of, lying on the ground talking quickly into his wrist-com. _He's sending for reinforcements_. I made my way over the body-littered battle-field. The soldier jumped when he saw me approaching.  
  
"D-don't kill me," he pleaded, his terror widening his visored eyes. He lay there trembling, utterly defenseless, and I saw the same fear in his eyes that had been in my own men's eyes as they fought a hopeless battle, and was all too often reflected in my own heart. I lowered my beam-sabers and knelt.  
  
"Have you called reinforcements?"  
  
"I h-haven't had the chance to give them the coordinates yet," he said shakily.  
  
"You are now a prisoner of war," I told him. "You will receive medical treatment and then be held until such a time as a cease-fire has been attained, or your release is negotiated."  
  
I motioned over two of my men who had remained in relatively good health through the fray. "You," I called gesturing to one. "I assign you to guard the prisoner. Do not treat him too harshly, and see that his arm is found so that it can possibly be repaired."  
  
"Yes sir." The soldier ran to the wounded reploid's side.  
  
I nodded to the other man I had called over. "Does your transmitter work?"  
  
He checked his wrist-com. "Yes sir, it does."  
  
"Good. Radio the base and tell them to send a couple of transports and to be prepared to treat the wounded. Also, have them pick up the wounded soldier approximately four-point-eight miles north and two-point-three miles east of here."  
  
The fighter saluted. "Yes, sir."  
  
I moved through the remaining soldiers one by one, giving them each orders to help fallen allies or guard enemies if they were capable. I was about to instruct another of my men to begin clean-up of the surrounding area and to scout the territory to be sure that no Resistance soldiers escaped, but a flash of light briefly shined into my eyes and I looked to my right to see an enemy troop pointing a high-energy gun at the soldier. I had been blinded by the sunlight glinting from the silvery barrel of the weapon.  
  
"Watch out," I called, and shielded the soldier with my own body. The shot caught me directly in the chest and knocked me backward onto the surprised reploid. I heard yelling and a couple more shots, but it seemed so distant from my reality. My vision turned glaring white and then slowly faded to black. All the wounds I had suffered in the past two days that I had never completely let heal had caught up with me. I slipped to the ground and embraced the darkness, knowing no more.


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry, this chapter was a long time in the typing. I have through chapter six written, but being near my computer long enough to type is another thing entirely. I apologize if chapters four and five seem a bit slow, but chapter six should make up for it. (Unless I go with what I'm thinking and split chapter five into two chapters. Then six will actually be seven) Anyway, this is probably the last header I'm putting on my fic because by now, you all know that I don't own MegaMan (If I did, the boss characters would have better names) and there should be no digression over who's ideas my stupid characters and plots are.

Thanks to my reviewers, especially Whisk, Phantom Kensai, and Helldragon. Glad to know you're out there and you're not bored yet!

P.S. If any one of you has had the opportunity to play or buy the MegaMan Anniversary Collection and hasn't, shame on you!!!!

Chapter 4

There were voices. I could here them around me, fading in and out like a bad speaker. I knew that Fefnir and Fairy were there, and once I thought I heard Phantom's voice before I sorrowfully remembered my good friend's death at the hands of the so-called maverick hunter Zero.

I am not sure if I was dreaming or remembering from that point on. I only recall seeing images sliding by, one by one, faces of friends, enemies, fearful soldiers in battle... There was no pattern or reason to it; it just continued on like a slide projector. I even called a picture of the original X to mind, standing in his white lab coat, as he had looked shortly before he had disappeared. I had not known him long before that.

My reminiscing turned to more recent events, and to Mayu. Whether she was my ally or my enemy, I still did not know. _What does she want from me? For that matter, where do her loyalties lie?_ I found myself envying her freedom of choice. I was trapped by my own duties, defending something that I hardly knew anymore. Until now, I had never realized how far apart the government and the defense system had grown.

One more portrait flashed in my mind, this one of Mayu standing over me with one cerulean dagger held at my neck. Her words echoed in my thoughts. _"Who am I to decide whose life to take in exchange for whose."_ In my memory, I seemed to feel great sadness coming from her. I wondered just how much she had gone through to get to where she was.

_"Sage."_ I thought I heard her call to me.

_"Sage, wake up..."_ I realized that it was not her, but just a fragment of my dreams.

"Sage, we can't do this without you." I opened my eyes to see a very concerned Leviathan hovering over me. She appeared so distraught that I laughed weakly.

"Don't look so sad. It's not like I'm dying."

Relief flooded her face. "Don't scare us like that," she admonished.

"It's not something I normally sit down and plan." I turned my head first one way, and then the other, partially to loosen my neck up, and partially to see how much any movement hurt. Other than being a little stiff, I felt fine. "How long have I been comatose?"

"About a day and a half. You really should take better care of yourself; you were pretty beat-up." She sat back in her chair and laced her fingers together behind her head. "At least now that poor squad-leader will stop moping around. He kept saying that he should have taken a bullet for you, not the other way around."

"Yeah, Harpuia, you should have a little more self-preservation. An army can survive without a foot soldier, but not without a general," Fefnir said, striding into the room. "So, how're ya feelin'?"

I sat up and stretched my back out a bit. "Pretty good, all things considered." I felt as though I had not moved in a month. "Did the transports get to the battle field all right?" I questioned, a bit concerned.

"Yeah, we're still treating the wounded." Fefnir leaned against the wall. "Is it just me, or is the Resistance beggin' for a fight? They weren't like this before; they just wanted to defend themselves and their energy source."

I half shrugged. "I thought the same. It's almost as if they have someone goading them to attack us now."

"there has to be a way to find out for sure," Leviathan put in. "I mean, if they have a new general, what if it changes the tide of the war? She looked down. "What will happen to the humans?"

"I know how you feel, Fairy, but if you're talking about trying to infiltrate their base with a spy, I don't want to put my men in any more danger." I sat on the edge of the cot and thought about it for a moment. Something was tickling at the edge of my mind, and I had a feeling that there was something I had missed.

Leviathan shook her head in dismay. "What _should_ we do? We can't just sit around and wait for an attack."

"Heh... why don't we attack them? Best defense is a good offense, right Harpuia?" Fefnir looked to me, expecting agreement.

"No," I said thoughtfully. "No, that would not be prudent when we don't know what their plans are. If we take an army great enough to attack their base, then we would remain defenseless here. All they would need is a small force, and it could mean total devastation for Neo-Arcadia. The humans by themselves are defenseless. We can't overlook that."

Fefnir snorted. "Why are my ideas always the ones to be shot down?"

Sighing, I put my hand on his shoulder. "I hate to break it to ya, Fefnir, but sometimes you're not much of a tactician."

"Glad to see I have the support of my fellows," he said darkly. "If we strike swiftly enough, they won't even have time-"

"No!" I snapped more harshly than I had meant to. "I'm sorry," I said a bit more calmly. "We just can't take that chance."

"But Harpuia, you're asking us to sit and wait for our own inevitable destruction," Leviathan broke in.

I was beginning to develop an idea, but I was not sure how my comrades would take it. "Fairy, just trust me on this. You gave me an idea, and all I need now is to find Mayu."

"Mayu? Who's Mayu?" She questioned, head tilted slightly to one side.

"A neutral party." I smiled, my shoddy plan beginning to come together in my mind.

"Is Mayu the one that you held prisoner for awhile, but Leviathan..."

"Can it!" Leviathan kicked his shin with a metallic clang.

I looked at her meaningfully. "We are _definitely_ going to talk about that later." I glanced back at Fefnir. "And yes, to answer your question, that would be the aforementioned individual."

"You mean you're going to trust an infiltration to an _enemy?"_ Leviathan scowled in disbelief. "Maybe you _aren't_ fully recovered yet."

"She's not necessarily an enemy," I said moodily, growing weary of the argument. "She's neutral, and she also saved my life from a Resistance ambush."

Fefnir snorted. "And what makes you think that she'd help you again?"

I shrugged. "She claims to want peace for both sides. Therefore, given the opportunity, I believe that she will stop whatever blood-shed that she can. If she tells us what the Resistance is planning, then we could set up an adequate defense for it and everyone could simply cut their losses and get on with their lives."

"Wishful thinking," Fefnir yawned. "I highly doubt that she'll see things your way."

I allowed my shoulders to slump. "You're probably right- for once. But if I have any chance at all to keep casualties down to a minimum, it would seem foolish not to take it."

"Oh, have it your way." Fefnir stomped off, mumbling something about his general being a "bloody pacifist." I looked at Leviathan.

"Do you, at least, understand what I'm getting at?"

She looked away. "I know how you feel, but I-" She paused, searching for the correct words. "I just don't know if your trust is well-placed. What if she decides to stay with them once she gets there?"

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it." I sat down on the edge of my cot. "Can you just trust me?"

"I don't know, Sage." She turned to leave and then looked back at me with sadness in her large, blue eyes. "I'm not even sure anymore if I really know you." With that, she was gone.

I tried to tell myself that the best decisions were not always agreed upon, but deep down, I wondered it I were truly fit to lead the Neo-Arcadian armies in a war in which I was not even sure I believed in anymore.

_You believe in it_, I chastised myself. _You're just not sure if the humans believe in you._

_I wished that I could curse my own stupidity, but it would have served little purpose. I had searched everywhere between the base and the city, and every unoccupied building in the factory district, but the fact remained that I had no idea were to find Mayu. In the past, she had always found me, although whether or not that was accidental, I was not sure. So much for that idea. Now Fefnir and Leviathan are going to be really displeased._

_I did not bother to explore the city. It was an unlikely place to find a reploid, especially one so obviously meant for combat. Instead, I progressed slowly and dejectedly back in the general direction of the base. The thought of simply not returning entered my mind. I felt that they did not need me to guide them._

_"Sage, we can't do this without you." Well, at least Leviathan still believed that my presence was necessary. Still, I did not want to return only to inform her that my "plan" had fallen through simply because the individual in question was nowhere to be found._

I ended up going past the base, to the place of battle from the other day. We had taken our dead off the field, but I did not think the Resistance had had a chance to do so. I expected to see the metal scavengers picking the place clean of the dead soldiers but to my surprise, I found a series of freshly dug graves. There were no markers, but someone had taken the time to bury the dead right on the battle site. I thought that the Resistance would have taken the bodies of their men away and had them cremated or slagged. Reploids were not normally buried, since there bodies would not decompose as a human's. _But who had the chance-?_

_I spotted a familiar orange clad figure kneeling with her back to me. A mound of sand had partially blocked my view of her, and I had not noticed her immediately._

"Mayu."

She gave a little gasp and turned around quickly. She relaxed when she saw that it was me.

"Sage... why are you here?" Her eyes looked baleful.

"I should ask you the same." I looked around at the fresh graves. "Is this your handiwork?"

She nodded solemnly. "They deserve to rest in peace. It was... all I could do." The sorrow in her voice was evident.

"You may not believe me, but I am sorry that it comes to this." For some reason, I felt relieved that someone had saw fit to pay their respects to the dead.

"You lost many men as well," she said suddenly. "I'm sorry there's nothing I can do to help your cause."

I mulled over her comment for a moment. "How did you know?"

"I could see the places where bodies once lay, where the blood stained the sand." She shook her head slowly. "Will this ever end? Reploids fighting reploids for the sake of humans who want them all destroyed... It doesn't seem fair."

My heart ached. I knew exactly how she felt. "Help me put an end to it."

She looked up at me suspiciously. I realized that she was rather small of stature. "How?"

I took a deep breath. This was going to be a long shot- "I need you to go into the Resistance base and find out who their new general is and what he's planning so that I can take proper evasive maneuvers to avoid more lives being lost."

She simply looked at me with an expressionless face, her cold eyes searching mine for some wordless answer to an unknown question. Slowly, the anger crept into her visage, turning quickly into something akin to rage. "I'm not a _tool_ for you to use in you espionage," She spat, livid. "You can take you plans and shove 'em." She stormed away angrily.

"I only want to save the lives of my men," I called with equal venom.

"And you chose me- why? Because since I'm not one of your men, my life doesn't matter?" She snickered coldly. "I suppose I should be used to people assuming that my life is useless. Heck, I'm even starting to believe it myself."

I tried to hold my anger in check. "I chose you because of your lack of affiliation with either group."

"So then, you want me to sink to your level and pretend to join them, and then report it to you. Then, of course, since I was only a spy, I would be forced to join Neo-Arcadia or be hunted down by the Resistance for my betrayal." She snorted in obvious disgust for me and my "plan." "Clever, Sage, real clever."

_Great, in five minutes, she has the whole thing thought out better than I ever did_. She had a rather good point. She would almost be forced to join Neo-Arcadia if she where caught. _If_ she were caught.

"All right," I said, swallowing my pride back so hard that I could have choked on it. "I'm sorry. It wasn't well thought out on my part, and I shouldn't be asking you to risk your life like that." I bit my tongue so forcefully that I thought it would bleed. Trying to smooth things over was not a fun task when all I really wanted to do was backhand the stubborn reploid across the face.

"Don't waste your good manners on me, Sage Harpuia," she said darkly. "I can see it in your eyes that you want to fight me again. Go on then! You have no disadvantages this time."

_Great. We're back to the fighting again_. "You beat me," I answered out loud. "I'm not fighting you again, despite the fact that you're acting like a spoiled child."

"Who's the childish one here?" she fired back vehemently. "You play with your 'toys' until they're broken, and then you expect a shiny new one each time." She narrowed her eyes at me. "All I want to do is take care of what's mine."

"You accomplish nothing alone," I ground through gritted teeth. "You can't end this war yourself, especially not when you're a pacifist."

"Who said I was a pacifist?" She raised an eyebrow, making her expression appear comical, despite the situation. "I don't have any problems killing reploids _or_ humans if I have a reason." She stared at me. "I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"So, you'd kill humans." My lower jaw was trembling in rage. "You're no better than the Resistance scum!"

"If you can kill one, why can't you kill the other?" she yelled. "We're all the same, you know. Humans, reploids- how is destroying one any more wrong than destroying the other?"

"The humans are defenseless, and they're _lives_. It's our duty to defend them. We're only cheap representations of-"

"Enough!" she screamed. "What defines humanity? What makes them more human than us? We think, we feel, we love, we hate- tell me, why are we so different than them?" Her hot rage had cooled to something of a pleading sadness.

_"I am sorry for you, Sage," she said softly. "You go on leading your armies, fighting your glorious 'holy war,' and you have no idea what you're fighting for."_

I stood a moment and waited until she had walked past me. With my back to her, I said in a low voice, "You said you should have killed me. Why didn't you?"

I heard her stop behind me. "I thought I saw a touch of humanity in you." I could almost her the empty smile in her voice. "I guess I was wrong."

I sighed. Yet again, our encounter had ended in a stalemate. "What can I do to convince you?"

"Hm," she laughed humorlessly. "Nothing."

I let her walk away and disappear over a mound of sand before I turned around. _Wonderful. And to think, I actually had the impression that we were on speaking terms_. I again remembered her tendency to decapitate individuals that she did not like, as well as her claim to have no problem killing both reploids and humans. I decided to stay on my guard.

_Is she right, though?_ I wondered. _Is destroying a human no greater a sin than retiring a reploid?_ I looked down at my hands, hands that had ended so many lives without remorse... _I can't keep questioning myself. What's done is done._ But I could not stop myself from speculating. _What if these hands had taken so many human lives? Would it be any different?_

I phased out my helmet and raked a hand through my disheveled hair. My head felt hot. _She's only a reploid herself,_ I decided. _Just because she believes what she says doesn't mean she's right._

_I decided to fly back to base and break the bad news to Leviathan and Fefnir. I would have teleported, but as usual, I had not had the foresight to grab a com before I left, and unlike many of my soldiers, I did not have a built-in wrist-com. Without someone to give coordinates to so they could set up the transfer, I was stuck wasting time again. First, however, I decided that I would pay my own dues to the dead enemy troops._

There was not much that I could do, really. I simply stood respectfully for a time, pensive. They had died the same way my men had died; fighting for what they felt was most important. I could only have respect for them, even if I did not believe in their cause. I could not say if Mayu was right and both humans and reploids were the same, but I could believe that Neo-Arcadian and Resistance reploids were. They had simply ended up on opposite sides of the coin.

Even Zero and I were similar. The reason that I was Neo-Arcadian was because I had been loyal to MegaMan X. When he left and his copy arrived, I knew things were different, but my loyalties were not about the change. Zero, I knew, was Resistance because the first thing he saw when he awoke from his hundred year's sleep was that scientist, Ciel, begging for protection. I could picture her wide, watery blue eyes pleading with him and supposed that I could understand why he made that choice. It was probably the same way I had chosen to rescue Fairy Leviathan from a maverick when I was first appointed a Guardian of the original X. _And I received_ _quite a handful in exchange for that decision_, I thought with a wan smile, although I did not regret it in the least. She was like a little sister.

My mind wandered back to Ciel, a human scientist on the side of the Resistance. Sometimes I had trouble understanding, although I believed that her intentions were good. She thought that if she could create an alternate power source, everything would be okay again. It was wishful thinking, however. _Sins and atrocities committed in war are not so easily forgotten. There will be hard feelings between the two groups for a long time._

_I realized that I had been standing for some time and turned to go, knowing that it may be the last time anyone visited this grave site. I took off and from the air, spotted signs of a battle a short distance away. I swooped in closer._

There were five reploids scurrying along the ground, and they were in hot pursuit of Mayu. I noticed another soldier down farther back. _What are they after Mayu for?_ I landed between the girl and her attackers, using my flight momentum for a solid punch in the stomach directed at the lead reploid. He doubled over my fist and fell to his knees, causing another soldier to topple over him.

"I told you she's in league with Neo-Arcadia," the other soldier cried, skidding to a halt. "It's General Harpuia!"

I grit my teeth. I had been about to ask why they were after Mayu, but I was pretty sure I understood. _Someone must have escaped that last battle and informed them about Mayu convincing them not to destroy me. She would be easy enough to recognize, since her armor is such a unique design._ I pulled out my sabers and ignited them. The soldiers back-peddled a bit, unafraid of chasing down a lone reploid woman, but not too keen on facing a Guardian.

"I don't want your help," Mayu hissed.

"They'll kill you," I said evenly. The soldiers were still hesitating.

She shook her head. "I don't care. I don't want to owe you anything."

"You won't owe me anything." I noticed one of the Resistance troops going for his blaster. "Could we talk later? Now really isn't the time..."

The reploid fired a shot at Mayu, and I deflected it with one sword. It would have hit her in the forehead.

Mayu charged into the group with her blades held backward, parallel with her forearms. She flashed one saber out in a lighting-fast strike, slicing half-way through one reploid's throat. He gurgled liquidly and fell, spraying crimson blood over her bright armor. The others began firing their weapons, but she was already diving to the ground. I quickly dispatched another soldier as she delivered a sweep kick that brought one down flat on his back. She moved to slice his neck as well, but the other unarmed troop pulled her away, throwing a weak punch to the face. She struck him back and he pinned her arms roughly to the ground. His fellow propped himself on one elbow and tried to get a clear shot at the struggling Mayu beneath his companion. I moved to stop him, but the soldier who I had punched sprinted toward me, firing a low energy pistol wildly. I deflected what I could with my sabers, although a few shots pinged off my armor, doing little damage but not exactly feeling very pleasant either. I jumped forward and to my left, augmenting my hop with a spurt from my boosters. I landed next to him and swiped my right-hand blade from his shoulder to his hip, cutting a little more than halfway through him. His upper body flopped back grotesquely, exposing sparking wires and sufficiently covering me with blood.

The other soldier was still looking for an opening, and I stabbed him in the gut with a blade. He gasped and clutched his abdomen, and I forearmed him in the chin, sending him flying. I turned my attention back to Mayu's struggle and locked my arms around the reploid's neck, pulling his head back. Mayu slashed his chest with both sabers in opposite directions. Flecks of blood smattered her face.

The other soldier- the one I had stabbed- aimed his gun shakily and fired, missing my head by mere inches. I threw one blade end over end and it stuck up to the hilt in his forehead. He died with a look of shock frozen on his face.

Mayu stood, breathing hard, fear, anger, and sadness all imprinted on her face at once. Slowly, she sank to her knees.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, masking my mild concern with an emotionless voice.

She crossed her arms over her chest, one hand on either shoulder, and ignored my question. "This may come as a shock to you, but I've never killed a sentient being before." I could not tell, but I thought she was shaking.

_You mean for all that talk about killing reploids and humans alike, you've never taken the life of either?_ I thought it best to keep the reply in my thoughts, instead saying, "It's something that one gets used to eventually."

She speared me with a sharp glance. "I don't _want_ to get used to it." She rose slowly, unsteadily. "I know. I'll have to if I'm going to fight. But I don't have to like it."

We stood in silence for a moment. "Why did you come to my aid?" she questioned softly.

"I'm not letting you get killed just because you saved me. That would seem pretty ungrateful if you ask me."

"Makes sense, I guess." She stared off at nothing in the distance. "I killed three Resistance soldiers today. Guess that means that I can't remain neutral any longer." She looked at me from the visored side of her helmet. "I suppose I'll join you, if your offer still stands."

Now it was my turn to balk at the request. "You openly admitted that you would take the life of a human as easily as a reploid. How can I trust you in my forces?"

"I said if I needed to. It should be obvious to you by now that I don't kill for the fun of it."

"Swear you'll never harm a human being," I told her. "Swear on your life."

"I swear it... unless it endangers more lives."

I supposed that was as good as I was going to get from her. "Pray you don't," I said with deadly calm. "It'll be the _last_ thing you do."

"Don't threaten me, Sage. I get your point." She turned her back on me. "So... when should I get started?"

I blinked. "Started?" She nodded. "Started on what?"

"On your little 'espionage,' of course." She smiled a cruel smile.

"You can't now," I said incredulously. "They would recognize you."

She shook her head. "No, they wouldn't" She nodded to the dead soldiers. "The only one who would know my face was one of that group. I would venture a guess that he won't be talking."

I sighed. "Shouldn't you come back to the base first?"

She began walking away. "It's best if I don't have anything to do with you. Unless you want me to get caught."

"How do you expect to get there?" I said dryly. "Walk?"

"Pretty much." She turned and started walking again.

"You're crazy," I muttered. "Why don't you just let us teleport you?"

"They'll detect that." She paused, looking at the broad wasteland spreading from horizon to horizon. "What've I gotten myself into?" She said softly.

"I'll fly you within four miles of it," I offered.

She blinked. "I dunno... maybe..." she thought for a moment, then, "-Aah!"

Her mild exclamation was in protest to my picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder.

"Ow... put me down! This is _really_ uncomfortable..." She started to struggle.

"Stop complaining," I growled. "You should be glad I'm giving you a ride in the first place. And I'm _not_ carrying you the other way. You'd be a dead-weight."

She kicked me one more time. "Are you saying I'm heavy?"

I ignored her and jumped into the air. She quit struggling- probably because she did not want to fall. I ran through the coordinates of the base in my head, tweaking my course minisculey to fly the best route. My flight speed, although a bit slower than usual because of my "passenger," was still fast enough to get us there within twenty minutes.

I landed and dumped her unceremoniously on the ground. My right arm was stiff. "This is as close as I'm gonna get you."

She picked herself up from the dirt and rubbed her exposed mid-section. "Your shoulder was digging into my stomach," she complained.

"Yeah, well don't expect anymore free rides from me. And if you actually had armor over your midriff, that wouldn't happen."

She glared icily. "I don't _want_ any free rides, thank you. And as for my armor, there wasn't-" She paused, as if correcting herself. "How am _I_ supposed to help something like that? Some of us can't just make our armor appear and disappear at will." She looked at me suspiciously. "You're not a normal reploid, are you?"

I crossed my arms and realized that I was chewing my lower lip again. I made a conscious effort to stop. "It doesn't matter what I am. What about you? How did you lock Leviathan in your own cell?"

Mayu guffawed. "That one's a ditz, I'll say." She reached into a small, barely visible pocket on her right arm and pulled out a familiar looking disc. "My late creator was working on these handy little things before he died. He never perfected them; they melt down after about an hour or so and fizzle out. But, since they work for my purposes, I use his blue-prints to make up a batch every now and then." She paused with a wan smile. "If you can't tell, I'm not physically strong, so I have to rely on ulterior means to win some battles."

I grunted. "Leviathan's examining the one you left."

"She won't find anything," Mayu said with a smirk. "Those things fry themselves way too thoroughly."

I shrugged. "Oh, well. I just wanted to keep her busy anyway."

"You could keep her busy with one of those cards that says 'How do you keep a stupid person busy? Turn over' on both sides."

I chuckled, having to agree. "Well, how _did_ you get her stuck in there?"

The corner of her mouth twitched. "She came in ranting, and I just tossed the field generator on the floor and slipped past her. She yelled some pretty interesting things while I walked away."

"Well," I sighed. "I can't say I'm particularly surprised."

Mayu turned away. "Can't say it's been fun. I've had enough of this question-and-answer session."

"Wait, what about he demons?" I called.

"Ah, you mean the demi-dragons?" she said coolly, looking over her shoulder. "It's simple. I see one, I kill it." She began walking again. "I'll contact you on my own time." She narrowed her eyes. "Don't hold your breath _too_ long."

I stared after her for a moment and then launched myself into the air yet again. _Well, I can inform Fefnir and Fairy that the plan is underway,_ I thought. _But why do I have such a bad feeling about it?_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I don't wanna spar you, you clod! You cheat-"

"Don't be such a big baby just because you can't win. You're always a sore loser."

"You're a poor winner! And you fell on me last time, too!"

"You're mad because you suck, and you're a wuss."

"You don't even-"

"SHUT UP!" The overly exaggerated exclamation was mine, and I was a stone's throw away from beating them _both_ senseless.

Leviathan pouted. "Well, tell him to leave me alone. He started it." Her resemblance in mentality to a five-year-old was uncanny.

Their incessant bickering had been ceaseless for the past day, and the only thing that kept me from escaping on some made-up "mission" was the fact that when Mayu contacted us, we may have to act fast. Needless to say, I did not trust either of my colleagues to issue proper commands under pressure. They were both very liable to get in over their heads.

"C'mon, Harpuia. It's so _boring_ around here," Fefnir grumbled. "If she won't spar with me, than why won't you?"

I glanced over at my red-and-white clad friend. "What, and kill your winning streak?" I was slumped against the wall of the training room, one knee bent, one straight, with my right arm draped over the bent knee. I was not sure what had brought me here, other than the company of my fellow guardians. I supposed that I was inviting punishment, but even I did not wish to be alone _all_ of the time. Though irritating, their companionship brought a bit of peace to my mind. They were something that I could understand and predict. I could rely on them.

Fortunately, I also "predicted" Fefnir's next move and vacated my spot on the floor. He hurled a deactivated training drone at me, and it crashed against the wall. "What was that for?"

"You're dissin' me, aren't you?" He picked up another drone.

"You know, we _do_ have to pay to get those repaired. And anyway, you wouldn't have beat me if Leviathan hadn't come in." I chucked the broken drone at his head. He ducked, but it hit Leviathan on the side of the helmet.

"Your aim sucks!" Leviathan rubbed her head and scooped up the basketball-sized machine. "Eat this!" She and Fefnir both threw their projectiles. I ducked one, whipped out one of my blades, and cut the other in half. I caught one of the halves and nailed Fefnir in the chest.

"Show-off," he said mockingly. "Try this!" He scooped up an armful of broken drones and targets and began whipping them at me one by one. Leviathan did likewise. The effect was like a strange game of dodgeball, and somehow, Fefnir and Leviathan turned on each other as well. I returned as many as were thrown at me, hitting my target more often than not. I realized that I was laughing, and I paused, the smile fading from my face.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Fefnir dropped his armload and walked over. "You okay?"

"...Yeah." I looked away. "It's just... been so long since I last laughed like that. I... wasn't sure that I could anymore."

"Lighten up, Harp." He clapped me on the back, and I decided to ignore the nickname.

"Yeah, don't be so serious all the time," Leviathan chimed in.

Fefnir looked at me meaningfully, an unusually soft expression on his dark face. "You're becoming as cold as those X-drones we send out to do our dirty work. Don't let that replace the Sage who's my friend."

Leviathan came up on the other side of me. "Don't let this war steal your humanity. I know we're reploids, but in a way, we're human, too."

I smiled, a small smile, but for once, it was real. "... Thanks guys. I think... maybe I forgot that"

Leviathan surprised me with a quick hug. "Welcome back Sage. I was getting sick of 'Master Harpuia." She grinned widely, and beyond the seemingly shallow exterior, I glimpsed her strong personality. And I remembered; this was my family.

_"Master Harpuia, please report to the command room."_ Since I did not normally carry a com and my whereabouts were usually unknown, the summons was broadcast over the general loudspeaker. Another message sounded. _"All troops assemble. Commanders Fefnir and Leviathan, please report to your posts."_

I looked from one friend to the other. "This isn't a good time," I growled. "Thanks to Zero, we're running low on X-drones. We'll have to rely more heavily on sentients, and you can't just buy those by the thousand."

"Look at it this way," Fefnir answered, a gleam in his eye which he always got when he thought a battle was near. "The soldiers are better fighters. We shouldn't lose as many as we do drones." He ran off.

"Well... I guess that's the only plus." I was already sprinting down the hall, Leviathan at my heels.

"An... attack?" she questioned, her voice coming in strange, sporadic bursts thanks to the jarring of her footsteps.

"It seems so," I concluded. I arrived at the command center, and she hurried on to the communication/teleporter station. She and I would probably eventually be needed on the front lines with Fefnir, but for now we all had our own tasks to perform, and mine was to strategize.

I arrived at my post with a command and a question already on my tongue. "How many are there? Mobilize our remaining X-drones and put them on the front lines."

A calm-faced officer glanced up at me and back to the monitor. "It's not an especially strong force, only a small fraction of what even they could manage."

I nodded absently. "Meant to get out fast, or to be expendable... What's the Resistance up to?" The last question was rhetorical, of course, and I drummed my fingers thoughtfully on the table. "Tell Fefnir to pull back and let the X-drones handle-"

"Harpuia..." Leviathan's fuzzed exclamation came over the com that, for once, I had actually thought to grab.

"We need you... communi..." _Piece 'a junk doesn't even work right._ I got the idea anyway, and with a nod to the officer, I sprinted down the hall and to the next room on the left.

"Leviathan, what's the problem?" I called over the buzz of activity.

"We've just received a communication from Mayu. She's transmitted coordinates, and we're teleporting her in right now."

The teleport pad lit up brightly, the energy finally coalescing into a rather petite figure.

Mayu stepped off the pad carefully, looking circumspectly at her new surroundings, finally noticing me and trotting over.

"Hey, the Resistance-"

"Thanks for the heads-up," I interrupted.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that." She smirked up at me. "Better late than never."

"Hey," Leviathan protested. "How can you be so smug about it? This could cost us more lives, plus several million in weaponry and X-drones."

Mayu frowned. "I _am_ sorry. I had no chance to contact you until now." She pulled her helmet off- by her design, I had suspected that she was one of the models who could. "I do tend to joke in tense situations. You must forgive me that, I'm afraid; it's a rather bad habit on my part." She turned to me. "Master Harpuia."

It sounded odd. Coming from her, I was more used to hearing "Sage."

"Did you discover anything of value?" I questioned out loud.

"I'm afraid I'm not much good at tactical stuff, so I didn't understand a whole lot. What I do know is that their new general is someone named Elpizo. Supposedly, he defected from Neo-Arcadian forces some time ago. You heard of him?"

I thought for a moment. "...Maybe. I'm not sure. He wasn't anyone of any prestige, I don't believe..."

"Hey, I remember," Leviathan broke in. "He was just a rookie, an overconfident loudmouth. We usually sent him back and forth to different groups to relay messages that we didn't want transmitted over the coms for one reason or another." She made a face. "I always thought that he was dumber than a rock."

"Well, if that's the case," Mayu snorted, "then you shouldn't have much trouble countering his strategies."

"Okay," I said humorlessly. "Why don't we start with this one; why is he sending such a pitiful force to attack us?"

She shrugged. "Well, of course, he didn't tell me personally, but I heard something about it not being a real attack."

"Oh?" I said curiously. "It seems real enough to me. They're out there fighting."

"Hey, I can only repeat what was said, right? Anyway, I think that he was just trying to get a feel for what kind of a force you had left after the last series of battles, before Zero left. At least, that's the impression I got from what I overheard." She paused and looked at me questioningly. "What do _you_ make of all this?"

I was thoughtful for a moment. "I'd guess he wants to know how best to attack us, whether directly or with guerrilla strikes. And of course, he's judging our remaining weaponry, such as the X-drones."

"So, this attack's just a little distraction?" Leviathan wondered.

"Yeah, pretty much," Mayu commented.

I drew my sabers without igniting them. "Come on, Leviathan. We'll end this insult to our strength now."

Leviathan smiled wickedly. "Bring 'em on. I'm up for some action." She glanced back at Mayu. "What about you? I thought you joined the forces."

"Naw," Mayu denied. "If I help you fight, then I can't be a spy anymore 'cause someone's bound to recognize me."

I pulled Leviathan along with me. "She doesn't much like fighting anyway," I interjected. "Let's get out there before Fefnir finishes the battle for us."

Leviathan nodded and followed me to the teleporter. I stepped in first and waited while the coordinates for the battle-field were locked in.

Though a familiar sensation to me, I still found teleportation an odd mixture of pleasant and unpleasant. In truth, I was not sure which it was predominantly, so I guessed at both. First, a wave of energy washed over me, coating me in blinding light. I felt both too warm and too cold at once, and oddly detached from myself- Not surprising, since for a brief moment my being was nothing but atoms and plasma- Then came the rush, a blackness punctuated by white bands and streaks, making it seem as though I were moving at tremendous speeds, though I had not moved yet. Finally, I was floating, washed in mellow light. Then I was forcefully set into reality again, on a raging battlefield. The process had taken at most about three seconds, but I had come to discover that eternity is what lies between those seconds.

I had long since stopped feeling the initial vertigo from the jump that sent many new rookies to their knees- One of the many reasons that we typically did not teleport soldiers to the battlefield. I was off and running the second that my energy had coalesced into a solid form again, Leviathan a short distance behind me.

Although Fefnir had been ordered to have his army hang back, it did not stop him from fighting anything that came within range of his imposing form. Flame-thrower blazing, he fired the burning gas balls over the battlefield like a madman, managing to look exceedingly happy and exceedingly angry at the same time. He was in his element.

Leviathan, though not as strong a combatant on land as in water, regardless made a valiant effort. Her weapon, a large combination of a harpoon and a spear, flashed dizzily in the dust-streaked sunlight. The harpoon was not as powerful as Fefnir's flame-thrower or my twin sabers, but it still outmatched her opponents by far.

I spotted the remaining group of X-drones on the front lines, firing their medium-powered busters mindlessly at their opponents. They could, of course, only follow orders. In the past, without proper direction, they had been known to wander aimlessly back and forth, firing their weapons at friend and foe alike. I suspected that that, in part, was the reason that we had lost so many to Zero. The unintelligent creatures had not the good sense to _avoid_ being cleaved in two.

Their lack of self-preservation instinct was, at the moment, both a help and a hindrance. They charged ceaselessly after those which they knew only as targets to be eliminated, pressing forward even after bodies had been severed or limbs ripped off. Their zombie-like indifference could be intimidating at the least, and their inability to feel pain or fear gave them an extra edge over the Resistance fighters. Unfortunately, it also caused them to wander directly into enemy fire without a care in the world.

The sentient soldiers of Neo-Arcadia had fallen back as ordered, and seemed to have suffered few casualties. Some of the more powerful officers had followed Fefnir and continued to fight. I decided that I may have to have a word with Fefnir later.

All of this I took in in a matter of seconds, soaring low over the battle field to assess my most strategic position. Phoenix Magnion, one of Fefnir's underlings, spied me and took to the air on fiery wings, calling to me as he came. I always thought him a rather strange-looking reploid, with a face incapable of showing expression, no arms, and oddly formed legs. He was, however, a powerful warrior, and one that I would not even care to face.

"General, we're already beating them back. What's going on? This win is too easy." His wing beats sent whirling gusts of heated air into my face.

"I believe that this is more of a damage-assessment on their part," I called back over the cacophony of battle. "Just repulse them quickly, using as little force as possible. Better for them to think us weaker then we truly are than stronger."

Magnion nodded his strange head. "But the X-drones are dwindling. We had few to begin with."

"Do what you need to turn the Resistance back. Now that the drones have thinned their numbers, it may be a good time to strike." The commander, modeled somewhat after he avian namesake, turned to flap back to the battlefield.

_We need more X-drones to throw away in battles like this. Another shipment should be arriving soon, but what we need is a factory. Unlikely, considering our current standing with the powers that be. We'll be lucky if they've even sent that shipment yet. _I landed near Fefnir and Leviathan, who were making a rather successful team effort in the thick of battle.

They fought in a well-synchronized pattern, like a strange dance, Fefnir firing his canon at any combatants who were out of range of Leviathan's swiftly flying harpoon. She ducked low and swept the blade through the ankles of a Resistance fighter, and at the same time Fefnir aimed over her head and shot three more advancing soldiers.

I fell into the familiar pattern of battle, slicing one reploid's face, another's hand, another's torso, exposing wired, sparking innards and ruby-black blood. My mind was alert, yet numb, as though I were watching myself defend, attack, dodge, strategize, attack again... It all had a sort of morbid monotony that I had come to expect from war, and I lost track of time and the bodies that fell around me. Even my own fatigue was some strange, outside sensation that I acknowledged but paid little other mind.

A shot whizzed by my head and I turned to deal with the threat only to see Leviathan decapitate him with one smooth swing.She looked tired and worn, and was covered, as were all of us, by a film of blood-muddied dust, but seemed unharmed. I imagined that Fefnir probably had taken care to discourage anyone from getting too close to her. He occasionally displayed the capacity to be very protective.

Fefnir himself had gotten mobbed by the enemy, too close to use his firearm- at least the way it was intended. Instead, he successfully wielded it as a melee weaponA resistance soldier flew screaming through the air and landed nearly on top of me. I neatly divided him into fourths before he hit the ground.

I was breathing hard, covered with blood. Some of it may have even been my own. My lip throbbed, and I swiped on fist over it to discover blood trailing down my chin. I had not even realized when it had happened. The enemies around me had dispersed in full retreat, and my fellow guardians made their way over to me.

"What was that?" Leviathan wondered out loud. "That force couldn't have been more than a couple hundred strong, but they fought like they meant it." She flopped unceremoniously to the ground and whined, "I'm tired."

"You think yer too good to spar me, but a low-key fight like that's gotcha on the ground." Fefnir toed her with one boot. "You need more practice or some second-rate soldier's gonna kick yer butt."

"I don't spar you because _you fell on me last time!"_

I allowed myself a small smile. "I believe the words you're looking for are _elbow-dropped_, not _fell_."

"It was an accident," Fefnir lied with an innocent face. I knew it was a lie because Fefnir never has an innocent face.

I shook my head. "Whatever. We have more important things to worry about. Nothing about this battle adds up."

"General." The familiar winged figure of Magnion alighted on the ground before me. "What do you think they were after? Even the Resistance isn't crazy enough to stage a direct attack against our base with a force that small."

"I don't know," I answered simply. "But I know someone who _will_ find out." I imagined Mayu, still standing in the transport station. _She has some explaining to do_. "Get a cleanup crew out here," I concluded. Magnion saluted, flapped once, and was away.

"Leviathan, com into the transerver station and tell them to lock into our coordinates." I needed to think, and here was not the place to do it. I heard Leviathan speak quickly into her com, although I did not pay much attention to what was said in particular. Leviathan then disappeared in a blinding streak of light.

Fefnir quickly followed Leviathan, and then I felt the familiar tingle of energy that always ran through my body right before teleportation. In the split second before I transported, the air combusted with a violent explosion. Flame ripped at me from all sides, but I vanished before I could feel anything but some of the heat.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Inside the base, I fell to my knees on the transerver platform, finally feeling the burns from the explosion. My face stung, and I imagined that my cheeks were criss-crossed with scratches from shrapnel.

"What _happened_?!" Leviathan shrieked. "Sage, are you all right? What _happened_ out there?!" She and Fefnir pulled me to my feet. I looked at my arms and saw that there were char marks on the armor.

"The Resistance force," I coughed, "Must've been setting explosives during that battle." I felt blood dripping down my face and swiped at it with the back of my hand. My fist came away smeared red.

"Can you stand okay?" Fefnir asked me.

"Yeah..." I tested my weight on relatively shaky legs. "I'm fine. But the rest of the men..." Fefnir, Leviathan, and I may have teleported to safety in time, but the transerver only worked on one person at a time. The rest of the army was expected to come back in the old-fashioned way- through the door. I shot a glance at Mayu, who was, indeed, standing where I had left her.

"Don't look at me like that; I didn't know about this." She walked over. "Do you need medical attention?"

I shook my head. "I said I'm fine." I brushed Fefnir and Leviathan's supporting hands away. "Tell me; what's the point of sending you in as a spy when you don't come back with any useful information?"

She took a step back. "You have to believe that I didn't know. I only just found out about the attack-"

"There's no room for mistakes here," I interrupted. "Your incompetence just cost a lot of good soldiers their lives."

"But I didn't-"

"Shut up," I growled. Turning to Fefnir, I gestured to the transerver with a nod of my head. "We need a cleanup crew out there. Now." I didn't wait for a response. Instead, I hopped onto the transerver and teleported into the inferno's aftermath.

Ruin spread before me in the form of vehicles, weapons, buildings, and bodies all strewn about like a child's toys. The devastation for a half-mile radius was total. Beyond that half mile, it was just plain ugly. It would take some time to pick through the rubble and salvage anything.

Leviathan had successfully organized a medical crew and was helping them find a comfortingly large number of survivors in the mess. Already, the med-center was overly full, and those with wounds that weren't mortal were being utterly but forgivably neglected.

I was no medic, but I sported a bulky medkit that had been unceremoniously shoved into my empty arms by a hurried member of the medical unit as he yelled to me to "do something useful." _People have no respect for their leaders these days_, I groaned inwardly to myself. I idly wondered what sort of treatment Fefnir was getting.

"Uh... sir, could I- I use that medkit... please?" I glanced down to my right at the owner of the shaky voice. His arm hung on by mere threads of circuitry, and probably would have fallen off completely if he had not been holding it there, his left hand gripping his right shoulder tightly. Dark, almost black blood coursed from the gaping hole, but not in the quantity that one would have expected from such a wound. _One of the hardier, less human-like models. Judging by the look on his face, I'd guess he doesn't even feel much pain._ I set the medkit on the ground and opened it, hoping that the reploid before me knew what he was looking for because I certainly did not.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I'm not really much of a medic."

"That's fine." The reploid tried to shrug, but his right shoulder barely gave a small twitch. "Sorry, I know my wound's not mortal, but if you can give my arm a superficial repair job, I think I can be of some help here."

I glanced at his burn-covered face. "I'm afraid I don't really know how to treat a wound like that."

"Don't worry, I'll direct you. I used to work in the med-center, so it shouldn't be too hard." He fished out a pair of rubber coated, needle-nosed pliers and prodded them deeply into the wound His brow furrowed in mild pain, and he turned his head awkwardly, attempting to see into the bloody mess of wires. He sighed and dragged a small melting iron used for repairing severed circuitry from the box and handed it and the pliers to me.

"Okay, these two wires right here..." I spent a good fifteen minutes connecting circuits, clipping and replacing supporting wires, and untangling the bloody mess. To his credit, the reploid- Arcan, he said his name was- never complained about my non-too-gentle, clumsy hands that yanked continuously at the inner workings of his arm. I knew that I myself would have probably shut my systems down by now and told my tormentor to wake me when the minor surgery was over.

Arcan's directions were clear and concise, and by the time I was done, I felt like an old pro at repairing nearly-severed right arms. Unfortunately, Arcan was also quite a chatterbox, and I received a substantial education on everything that an ex-medic rookie foot soldier could possibly know- and a few random facts that he did not, but apparently liked to think he did anyway.

As I finished the inner workings, he swiveled his arm experimentally and nodded in approval. "It'll do. Quite nicely, in fact." He pulled one more tool from the medkit, a hand-sized laser that could be set to either neatly slice or to seer metal or synthetic flesh together. "Just close up the gap, and it should be fine."

"This'll leave a pretty noticeable scar," I commented, getting to work. "It might limit your movement as well."

"Ah, well," Arcan said nonchalantly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he should have been in tremendous pain. "If it's really that crippling, I'll just have to go back to work with the medical center. Eventually, I'll just get it repaired. Maybe they'll give me a new arm.

I hid a grimace. I could not imagine potentially losing a limb and having such a laid-back attitude about it. Bad puns aside, I was rather attached to my own body-parts.

"Do you have any idea what happened out here?" I asked Arcan, who was twisting his right shoulder around and pressing at it with his left hand. "I'm assuming that the Resistance planted explosives, but do you know what exactly they were targeting?"

He shrugged, his shoulder responding stiffly. "It's kinda hard to tell with all the wreckage. Heck, it looks like _everything_ exploded to me." He grinned, but it quickly faded to a frown. "If I had to guess by the direction and by common sense, I'd say it was the weapons bunker and maybe the hanger. They're pretty strategic targets, I guess."

I sighed in defeat. "That's what I was afraid of, but I figured I'd ask, anyway."

Arcan gave me a wry half-smile. "Don't let it get ya down, General. We know and they know those human-killing scum can't win this war. Sooner or later, we'll grind 'em into the ground. They'll face justice at the end of our blaster rifles."

_Justice. Is that justice? None of this seems just to me_. I nodded to the newly-repaired soldier, gave him the medkit which he could make better use of, and went off in search of Fefnir. _This is a war. There is rarely anything "just" about a war._

_I found Fefnir hard at work helping a cleaning crew clear debris from one of the two bunkers housing weapons. He heaved a heavy slab from the pile up over his head and threw it off away from the building._

_Hey, watch it!" Someone yelled. "You tryin' to kill me?" Fefnir turned and glared. "Never mind!" the other reploid called. "...I'll move next time!" Fefnir snorted. I noticed three reploids off to the left struggling to lift a piece of debris the size of the one Fefnir had tossed with relative ease. I forgot how physically strong he is. _

_"So, the med crew didn't draft you, huh?" I commented wryly._

Fefnir snorted again. "I tear people's limbs off; I don't put 'em back together."

_"That- that's just great, Fefnir," I said with a hint of dry humor in my voice._

_Kicking idly at some broken structuring, he crossed his arms. "Somehow, I doubt that you came all the way out here for a friendly chat. What's up?"_

_I nodded. "Perceptive of you. Actually, I wanted a bit of a damage assessment. Anything salvageable?"_

_Fefnir's impassive face faded to a somewhat darker expression. "They were thorough. Way too thorough for my taste. Oh, we still got stuff left- just precious little. The X-drones are gone, at least two-thirds of our weaponry was demolished, we lost ride armor and land chasers, not to mention a nice chunk of soldiers-"_

I groaned out loud. "If I didn't know any better, I'd guess they were _trying_ to tick us off."

A feral grin spread across Fefnir's face. "Does this mean I get to-"

"No, Fefnir. We're not dismembering those mavericks just yet."

Disappointment flickered in his eyes. "Why not?" He grunted.

"What if they want us to attack?" Images of mine-fields and other such traps awaiting our armies glinted through my mind and I frowned. "I'm at least sending Mayu back in first."

_Fefnir balked at that, twisting his features into a look of distaste. "You're still trusting her? After this disaster? I was going to suggest dumping her in the middle of the desert..."_

I sighed. "Harsh, but point taken. That didn't go over well. Problem is, we don't have anyone else that we can send out- or afford to lose, especially. Everyone here is up to their necks in every kind of work possible.

"Well heck, I'll do it," Fefnir growled.

And image of Fefnir trying nonchalantly to gather information from the Resistance entered my mind. None of the results were pretty. "Uh... no."

"Didn't think so," he grumbled. "But after the reception you gave Mayu, I have my doubts that she'll be wantin' to do you any favors."

"Than I'll order her to do it. And if she refuses, I just _may_ dump her in the middle of the desert." A wry smile crept to my face. "I have a feeling she'd find a way out, anyway."

"Hey," a familiar voice broke in. "You can't just stand there talking." Leviathan strode into our conversation, a disturbingly stern expression on her face. "The medical crew is short-handed..."

I chuckled. "Goodbye, Fefnir." My booster activated and I shot into the air, leaving Fefnir to glare icily at my retreating form.

Mayu had disappeared. _Why is she always doing that?_ I jogged through the base, questioning anyone I saw as to the whereabouts of the reploid girl, but I never received any answer more specific than a general direction. Eventually, I noted that I was headed for the remaining vehicle hanger, and I doubled my speed.

When I arrived, it was to the familiar whine of a land chaser being started up. Kicking in my boosters, I did a quick hop over to the bike that Mayu was on and shut off the engine.

"General, I don't need to hear anymore. Let me go." She would not look at me.

"What's with this 'General' thing? I thought we were on a first name basis." I kept my hand on the ignition in case she got it in her head to start it up again before our conversation was over.

"I didn't know you had a preference," she muttered. "Can you please let go? I'd like to go now."

"Where do you think you're going?" I questioned sardonically.

She still would not look at me. "Back to the Resistance base," she said. "To go back and do it right."

"Uhm... asking _before_ you take off with one of our land chasers would have generally been a good idea." I sighed. "Just get off the bike and talk to me. You can't go without at least letting me explain what you're trying to find."

She hopped off the side of the bike opposite from me and sat down in the streaked sunlight near the entrance to the hanger. I moved to sit next to her.

"They're not exactly forthcoming with information there," she said moodily in a soft voice. "I came back when I did to try to warn you of the attack, but I- I was too late. And I had no idea that they were going to..." She shook her head. "I don't think Ciel even knew. I think she would have disapproved."

"You have to find these things out before it's too late." I glared. "Look, I don't know what went on while you were there, but you can't afford to screw around."

"I screwed _up_." She turned her face away. "Their deaths... It's my fault. Maybe I _don't_ deserve a second chance-"

I caught her shoulder and turned her roughly toward me. "Whether you _deserve_ it or not, we don't- are you _crying_?" Indeed, wet trails were making their way down her face. _I wasn't even sure if Reploids_ could _cry_. She turned away again. I sighed. "Knock it off. I think I prefer your look of death to this." I tried to stifle any amount of sympathy I felt. Now was no time to be sentimental.

"...Sorry." She wiped her eyes. "...My look of death is that intimidating?"

I chuckled. "Well, let's just say that seeing it while you were holding a sword to my throat wasn't precisely the highlight of my day. But, I guess you always look like that, so I suppose I shouldn't take it personally."

She snorted a short laugh. "You're one to talk."

I shrugged. "I guess I've forgotten how _not_ to look angry."

She nodded. "There's not much to smile about." Shaking her head, she stood suddenly, looking back down at me. "Well, you were going to tell me exactly _what_ I'm supposed to spy on. We should probably hurry up so I can get back there before sunset."

It was an abrupt subject change, but I was used to it coming from her by now. "You mentioned Ciel. were you in direct contact with her?"

"For the most part," she said somewhat casually. "Why?"

"I heard that she was working on an alternate power source," I elaborated. "Is there any word on the stage or success of the project?"

Mayu smiled a bit. "She's making good progress on it. If people just give her a chance, I really think she could do it within the next two years." Her smile faded. "Of course, contrary to her fanciful beliefs, I have my doubts that that will stop the war. People don't forget so fast..."

I nodded in agreement to her sentiments. "You're right, of course. It won't bring peace. But I believe it could be a key to ending this, among other things." I got to my feet. "It would certainly help with the power shortage, anyway."

Mayu leaned against the wall, looking out at the cloudless sky. "So... what am I supposed to be listening for?"

"Pretty much anything military, such as what their weapon and troop situation is, when and where they plan to stage an attack, and most importantly, sabotage operations like today."

Mayu looked sheepish. "They didn't mention _anything_ about that. Honestly, I don't think Elpizo wanted Ciel to know exactly what was up."

"Then you'll just have to make Elpizo trust you over Ciel," I shrugged."

"Oh, now _that_ sounds easy," She said dryly. "I guess this means hiding my initial and immediate dislike of our gender-challenged friend."

I stifled a laugh. "So, you noticed too."

"Any male who has luxuriantly long curly locks, wears pink, and laughs in a sultry alto is a fag in my book, reploid or no."

This time, I laughed out loud. "Anyone who can say something that funny can't be as cold and humorless as you seem to think you are."

She smiled and finally laughed. "Friends is it, then?"

"After that comment about Elpizo? Of course." I walked with her back to the land chaser. "If you're gonna take one, take a good one." I pointed out a newer, sleeker model in the far corner. Unlike the other bikes, it was not painted to blend in with the sand but gleamed a much more noticeable indigo. I didn't bother to mention that it was actually mine, although I did not use it. Flying was faster. "This one will get you there faster, and it's been maintenanced recently, so it won't die on you in the middle of the desert."

She eyed the chaser. "Not bad." Hopping on, she studied the controls. "A retinal scan?"

I shrugged. "It's not hooked up yet."

"You didn't want anyone running off with your bike," She commented knowingly.

"At one point, I cared. I don't use it anymore." I gave her a mocking glare. "But it better come back in one piece."

"Keep your helmet on. I'm not hard on equipment." She started the engine and revved it a couple of times. "Later." She gunned it and quickly faded into the distance.

I found myself chewing my lower lip and wondered what I was more worried about; Mayu or the Bike.


	7. Chapter 7

I don't normally include headnotes anymore, but there are some things I wish to address. First of all, I've apparently been having some formatting problems in the form of italics that don't show up until I post it. Thank you for Vix and Phantom Kensai for showing me specifically where. I'm afraid, however, that changing them is a time consuming problem, so I'm sorry if I don't for a long time. Second, Demented Demon referred to me as "Doug" in his review, and I just want to clarify that I AM A GIRL! The e-mail addy that I was using was my boyfriend's so my name came up as his. To avoid further confusion, I have changed mine e-mail address. Look in my bio to find out! And third, I have posted some hand-drawn MMZ wallpapers at www.Madbbs. com/users/alucard. There isn't many now, but I should have more there soon. (They take awhile to do!) Look under the name Kelly to find them. That being said, enjoy chapter 7.

Chapter 7

Something had drawn me back to the abandoned factory yet again, and I would have given half my sanity- if I had that much left- to know what. It was dark- I wouldn't have expected otherwise- and I searched half-heartedly through the shadows with no idea what I was looking for. This time, I had opted to keep my armor on, save for my helmet and the rocket boosters on my back. I had simply thrown a dark cloak over myself after that, mildly covering the fact that I was a reploid in case anyone did spot me.

The signs from the last battle I had had here were untouched, the scorches on the ground, the hole in the wall from the impact of my body- not that I was particularly fond of those memories. It had, however, begun an interesting chain of events with Mayu.

I knelt down and picked up the scrap of metal that I had found last time, black with blue markings. _Where did it come from? Why is it here? Only one small scrap, not like if they were being created here._ My mind rang with numerous questions, all of which had no obvious answer. _That last demon- or demi-dragon, Mayu called it- was it trying to defend this place? Or was it following Mayu?_

My thoughts were interrupted by the whining drone of a land chaser's engine. It slowed and stopped near the door, which creaked open a moment later. I shrank into the shadows, the only nearby place to hide at the moment.

"Get out here, Sage, I don't have time for this." Mayu strolled in and leaned against the wall. "Anyway, I see you, so give it up." I stood from my crouch and walked toward her slight shadow.

"What are you doing here? Do you have something to report already? It's only been two days."

She shook her head. "There's not much to report yet. There's talk about another attack, but the why's and the wherefore's are kinda fuzzy. Figured I'd pay you people a visit." She stretched one arm over her head. "After all, I should know what's going on with my own group as well, right?"

I frowned. "You _could_ try being more subtle. A bright orange reploid on a new chaser is a little conspicuous."

"No one saw me- I don't think, anyway."

"'You don't think' being the key words there," I muttered.

"What was that?" she queried, one eyebrow raised.

"Nothing."

"Whatever." She crossed her arms over her small breasts. "By the way, I've been wondering..."

I waited for her to finish her thought. "Yeah...?" I prompted when she did not."

"What are you?"

"Huh?" I took a step back involuntarily. "A reploid, of course."

"No kind of reploid that I've ever seen. You looked human that day in the city, and again when I fought you in the desert. At least," and she gave me an upraising glance, "That body looked pretty human to me."

I felt heat creep into my face, although I did not know what I had to be embarrassed about. I prayed that blushing was not one of the many attributes my creator had given me.

"You're turning red," Mayu smirked.

Apparently, It was.

"What of it?" I said, regaining my composure. "It doesn't matter. Now tell me; why are you here? Are you some kind of stalker?"

She shrugged. "I figured you'd come here. You're the type who lets curiosity get the best of you more often than not. Am I wrong?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but she gave me no chance.

"But you're not backing out of answering my question so easily. I can already tell I know more than everyone else, so you may as well tell me the rest."

"Fine" I growled. "I've been created to live, look, and function exactly like a human. At the moment, I simply choose not to."

She began to say something, but stopped. "We'll finish this conversation later."

I followed her dark gaze to the far upper corner of the room, but saw nothing. "What-?" Then I caught a movement from the corner of my eye and turned. A pale figure stood atop an old machine, but as I squinted to make out the detail, he dissipated into an inarticulate haze. At least, I thought the figure was male. I could not be too sure with the brief glimpse I had gotten. I shot a glance at Mayu and she shook her head, apparently as puzzled as I.

"I could amuse myself for quite some time watching your confusion, but I suppose I have more important things to do." The voice was a rather refined baritone, holding a hint of an old British accent and much more than a hint of condescending snobbery. I whirled and found the ghostlike figure I had witnessed a moment ago standing before us with his arms crossed and a smug expression on his face.

He was around my height, perhaps an inch taller, with a ghostly pale, pinched face from which peered a pair of narrowed amber eyes. Silvery-white hair hung a bit past his shoulders from beneath a silver-gray headband with a blood-red gem set in the center. Two red slashes marred his cheeks. His armor was mostly white with some gray, a relatively standard issue, for the most part. There were some differences, such as his foot armor ending in single, red, claw-like protrusions and his left shoulder plates were enlarged and elongated. A white, velvety cape hung over his shoulders. The one, true attention drawing feature was his left arm. Instead of ending in a hand or a buster, it widened into a huge claw, three long, glistening white digits sprouting from a red base.

He took a step toward us and raised his claw to gesture at me. "You are nothing but an abomination, a disgusting hybrid between two unlike creatures." He paused, giving Mayu a condescending glare. "And you are..." He drew his claw back as though to strike. "You both shall die." Wraithlike, he vanished again, appearing to my far right. I decided that he must have some sort of short-range teleporter built into his systems.

"Regretfully, I do not have time to destroy you myself. However, you may remember the demi-dragons well. Perhaps these two will give you a bit more of a challenge." From either side of the room, aqua tattoos and shining wings flared to life.

The phantom teleported one last time, landing atop the machine once again. "If, perchance, you survive, remember my name; Phase. I will be the one to destroy you."

I threw off my cloak and phased in the rest of my armor, leaping after Phase with a thrust of my boosters. With a final amused laugh, he teleported away, and I sailed through a cloud of white vapor.

"Come back here!" I screamed, knowing it would do no good.

"Forget him, Sage," Mayu yelled behind me. "We have more immediate problems!"

I recovered my mid-air balance and spun around, barely avoiding a huge set of claws that raked at me viciously. _Are these ones bigger than before...?_ The demi-dragon hissed. Then I realized that it was not a hiss, but a dry, rattling voice. _They're intelligent enough to speak now?_

"We will terminate the abomination," it scratched out, swooping after me with surprising speed. I dropped to the ground and rolled to the side, catching sight of Mayu as I did. She had been backed into a corner, and blocked a set of thrusting claws with a saber. The other set of claws came foreword, and she dropped to the ground and rolled between its legs, coming to her feet and dancing away form its slashing tail. Blood leaked from one cheek where a glancing blow had been delivered from the wicked claws.

I kicked up and leapt to the air again, just in time to avoid the black behemoth's landing on the spot where I had been and digging all four sets of claws deeply into the solid metal floor. _That would_ not _have felt good..._ I charged the beast, blades in front of me, but with one unexpectedly fast stroke of its wings, it was overhead and swooping at me with lunging jaws.

I changed directions and instead flew to stab the creature in the back that was in pursuit of Mayu. Being grounded, Mayu had a serious disadvantage against our airborne assailants. I felt white-hot pain stab through my back as the demon I had turned away from swiped at me and delivered a glancing blow. I screamed in rage and pain, attacking with both of my sabers. One connected with the black armor of the shoulder and sparked before sliding off, leave a shallow scratch, but little else. _Tough little bugger_s, I thought, though "little" was not quite the appropriate descriptive word. My other sword caught one of the creature's clawed hands and two blue-pointed fingers went spinning off into the darkness.

"You mock me," the creature hissed. Black blood leaked from its severed digits. "If that is all you can do, you will die quickly." The demi-dragon roared and swung its armored tail. I moved so the spikes did not puncture, but the blow still forced all of the air from my lungs and I doubled over and found myself plummeting toward the ground. I managed to straighten and land on my feet, though the impact was jarring.

Mayu threw a swipe at the face of her own obsidian attacker. It dodged its head backward and bellowed a mockery. She stabbed her other blade into its chest, twisting and ripping downward. Only a small trickle of blood congratulated her attack, but any signs of damage were welcome. Unfortunately, it also outraged the demi-dragon. It came at her with its toothy maw opened wide, and Mayu backed into the wall. Either side was blocked by flashing, sickle-like claws.

I leapt up and flew in a tight semi-circle and then straightened my flight pate to slide between the dragon and the wall. I grabbed Mayu in a tight, saving embrace and shot past the ebony assailant, but not before the flying azure claws raked my left side from ribs to knee. My flight hit the ground and I rolled, losing my grip on Mayu. We tumbled to a stop in a battered heap.

"Thanks for the save," she mumbled. "But you should be worrying about you own hide." I rolled across the floor, pulling Mayu with me to avoid the heavy landing of one of the demi-dragons. The other hovered above us, prepared to strike.

I got up and yanked Mayu roughly to her feet. "Get to the land chaser. I'll follow by air." Her eyes gave me a once over, and I knew she was taking in the wounds. Blood coursed down my side to pool on the floor by my left foot.

"Don't do anything stupid, Sage," she said and turned away to make a run for the door. A demon gave chase, and she fended it off with flashing sabers. The other monster turned on me, and I flew up and over its head. Mayu, I saw, made it safely to the door, but refused to leave without me.

"Go!" I yelled. "I'll follow!"

"Hurry up!" she answered defiantly.

I made a beeline for the door, but I felt an ebony bulk smash into me from behind, driving me into the wall. The unnatural claws pinned me, one through my right bicep, and the other through the left side of my ribs. I heard a painful yell and realized that it was my own.

I heard the sparking protests of a saber imbedded in armor, and the pressure holding me to the wall disappeared. I fell unceremoniously to the floor, catching sight of Mayu driving a blade into the creature's neck. It didn't penetrate far, but the monster screamed in pain, flinging Mayu away. She landed next to me and, grabbing my arm, pulled me toward the door.

"Can you fly in that condition?" She asked, jumping onto the land chaser. "Maybe you should ride with me."

I shook my head, which was a mistake because it sent a wave of dizziness and nausea pulsing through me- _I can get nauseous?-_ and I realized that I had lost _way_ too much blood. A resounding crash came from behind us and I looked over my shoulder to see both of the gargantuan dragon-beasts trying to claw their way out the door. _They teleported in,_ I realized. _They're too big to come and go as we do_. Unfortunately, that would not be true for long. The twin demons' efforts were effectively turning the doorway into a large hole in the wall, and metal shrieked in protest as they tore at it with unnervingly powerful jaws.

"Get moving," I yelled back to Mayu. "We'll be too much of a target if we stay together, and we'll slow each other down as well."

"How do you expect to outrun them or fight them in your condition? You'll bleed to death!" She failed to mask the concern in her voice.

"I'll be fine. My body's systems are good at cauterizing wounds quickly." I did not bother to mention that the internal damage- and bleeding- took much longer to heal. I ended the discussion by leaping to the air and hoping that Mayu would follow by land.

We gained a decent head start, and I surprisingly did not have to slow my flight speed by much to match that of the chaser. I was not about to leave Mayu behind as bait for the demi-dragons.

With a flurried explosion of wings and claws, the two dragons broke free of their steel-walled prison and gave chase. They overtook us at an alarming rate.

"Heads up! I yelled, giving Mayu as a best a warning as I could. One ebony creature swooped down on her and the bike, charging an energy blast in its mouth. As it let loose with the cerulean shot, she kicked back the thrusters to half-speed and executed a sharp U-turn. The demon overshot its target and the explosion hit bare ground.

The other dragon charged me head on as if in a game of chicken. I, however, would be the loser regardless of who dodged first, so instead of humoring him, I dropped like a stone. The earth rushed up at my face, and I pulled up seconds before impact. The dragon landed unfazed where my trajectory had been and I noticed it gathering energy to itself. _I think this shot is gonna be bigger..._

Unfortunately, I was right. The creature let loose a hadoken-style blast which was dwarfed only by its massive body. I yelped and dove out of the way. The boiling sapphire energy exploded at some unknown point in the sky, and the shock-wave bowled me over onto the ground. My wounds that had begun to seal tore themselves open again, and I left a trail of blood behind me.

Mayu leapt at the creature, who had given chase to me once again, and scaled its jagged armor, somehow avoiding the claws. She thrust viciously with one saber and stabbed it through the eye. Letting go, she dropped to the ground and rolled away from the lashing tail as oily black blood gushed from the monster's now empty socket.

"What're you doing?!" I yelled. "Get on the bike! Get out of here!" As per tradition, she blatantly ignored me and continued harassing the beast, like a sparrow attacking a hawk

The other demi-dragon stomped forward and flapped its huge wings, catching me across the chest and sending me flying. Blood dripped down my upper-torso and I realized that the wings' edges cut like razors. I flew into the air again, and blood poured from me like gory rain. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I'm not even sure how I'm doing it now...

A dragon blew past me, its speed much greater than mine. It swooped around in a tight arc and I tried to avoid it, but it slammed into me, driving me back into the dirt. I struggled to my feet and leapt from the ground yet again, only to be swatted down like and insect. _I can't win this,_ I realized. The dragon roared overhead.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"You can't beat them in the air!" Mayu yelled. "Come on!" I ignored her and flew again. _Two people on the bike would slow it too much. Perhaps she, at least, will escape this. _I pushed my boosters to their limits, accelerating in the air until the wind around me screamed. Mayu was beneath me, pushing the land chaser just as hard. _That thing's got better acceleration than I thought..._ I passed the bike and glanced over my shoulder. The pursuing demi-dragon would overtake me shortly. If I could stall it long enough for Mayu to retreat, then perhaps she could escape to warn Fefnir and Leviathan of this new danger. I looked down again and spotted the other dragon diving at Mayu. She swerved, making reckless turns at high speed but effectively avoiding the overhead attacks.

I was struck from behind, another set of gashes from the beam-saber-like claws criss-crossing the ones already there. I fell, tweaking my path just enough so I landed hard on the bike, behind Mayu. She jumped slightly at the impact and swerved dangerously.

"Don't _do_ that without warning me!" She yelled.

"Sorry," I shrugged helplessly. I knew that I should get off the bike and give her a better chance of escaping, but I did not particularly feel like dying, selfish as it may seem.

"If we don't get away," I called, "I'm sorry."

Her face turned into a feral grin. "Who said anything about getting away?" The grin widened. "I've merely chosen my battleground."

"You're crazy, I muttered below her hearing level. "I just hope you don't die for it."

I heard a roar of wind over my head and the demi-dragon swooped with claws out-stretched as though to pluck us from the bike. Mayu juked to the right, barely avoiding the charge. Pulling out a deactivated saber, I twisted around so that I was facing backwards and swung the bladeless hilt, activating and deactivating it in a half-second's time. Red-violet energy, cut off from the source and flung crescent-like through the screaming air, splashed like a deadly wave against the dragon's dark hide.

The other dragon, glaring at us one-eyed, landed in front of the bike and Mayu hit the breaks, turning the chaser sideways to stop. She jumped off and sprinted away.

"What're you doing?!"

"Drive!" she called to me.

"Wait-"

"Just drive!" She disappeared around a corner, back the way we'd come.

I cranked the thrusters and laid on the lasers- which Mayu either hadn't seen or was too busy driving to use. The chaser barreled toward the dragon, and I pulled up and hit the repulsers for a quick burst and sailed over the monster's head.

U-turning around sharply, I trailed after Mayu, who had picked up a draconic shadow. I caught sight of the creature first and gave it a heavy smattering of whitish laser-fire in greeting. Easily distracted, it turned away from its "prey" and charged after me, flying forward and skimming the ground with its clawed feet.

A motor roared from somewhere out of my range of sight, and Mayu charged around the corner on a sleek chrome-and-black motorcycle. _Haven't seen one of those in awhile_. She swung her saber as she roared past the demon, the momentum forcing the blade through a deep slash on the armored side, but also wrenching her arm back in what appeared to be a painful manner.

She pulled up next to me and stopped momentarily. "When I said 'drive,' I meant _that_ way," she commented dryly.

I opted not to answer and swung my bike around- in time to see the other demi-dragon appear much to close to me for comfort. I covered it with a smattering of laser-fire, which had little effect, but blinded it long enough to allow me to slip past, Mayu close at my side.

I glanced over at Mayu. She stared straight ahead, apparently concentrating on driving through the sharp turns. I wondered where she was going, a bit disoriented myself. Already, I had seen individuals and other vehicles shying away from our game of cat and mouse, and if it could be helped, I hoped not to take our fight to the residential areas. The buildings around us had already grown from wide, squat factory buildings to spiring office complexes, and traffic was much more frequent.

"Mayu!" I yelled over the roar of the two engines.

She glanced at me.

"We have to take our fight somewhere else; we can't get civilians involved."

She shook her head, not understanding over the engines' roar. _She'll figure it out, anyway. She seems to think the same as me in that regard. _My mental monologue was cut short when scraping blue claws caught at my shoulders and attempted to lift me from the land chaser. I held on to the bike one-handed and swatted at it with a crimson blade. The tip caught between the armored plates of the knee and a sickening pop informed me that it had dug in deep enough to cause real damage.

The claws on my shoulder disappeared, leaving crimson lines in their place, and the ebony dragon trumpeted an enraged roar. "You will pay, Green One!"

I almost smiled at my apparent new nickname. Almost.

Mayu was having similar problems to mine, attempting to avoid swooping overhead attacks that threatened to pluck her from her vehicle. She juked left and right minutely, just enough to keep the claws away from her. One set caught her cheek, spraying a little shower of blood. She swerved around a large truck, hidden from my sight for a moment, and when she reappeared, it was with a demi-dragon digging claws into her back.

I swung one saber, flashing it on and off, sending a crescent of bright energy into the creature's single-eyed face. It hovered in the air, keening an angered battle cry and pawing at its eyes. _I don't know how permanently I blinded it, but with only one eye left, maybe I damaged it enough that it will be out of the fight for now._

Mayu set her face against the pain in her back that she must have felt and gunned the engine.

The added agility of the two bikes offered some defense against the heavy wing-beats of the mechilinoid beasts, but I knew that they would eventually overtake us. From the grim set of Mayu's face, she knew that as well. Traffic was beginning to thin, and I realized that the woman had led us on the most direct route from the city. One dragon dove at her, and she fish-tailed the motorcycle in a tight one-eighty, barely avoiding the violent attack. To my dismay, she leapt from the bike again and activated her sabers.

_Idiot_. "What are you doing?" I yelled, goosing the throttle and coming around to park the chaser nearby. She apparently could not hear me over the roar of the engine, so I cut it and repeated my incredulous question.

She glanced at me, acknowledging that she had heard me speak, but ignoring the fact that she was expected to answer. The demi-dragons fell on us again, and I was forced to divert my attention from the fool-hearty actions of my companion to the more immediate problems of shimmering claws and monstrous black bodies. The one-eyed one came at me, charging and firing plasma blasts in as rabid a succession as it could. I caught one on my saber and used all of my strength to deflect it. My shoulder wrenched painfully and red and blue energy sparked and sprayed like boiling blood. Several of my wounds which had sealed over while I was on the land-chaser ripped open again, painfully so, and sent blood coursing down my body in time with my artificial heartbeat.

The volatile energy dispersed with a final, forceful burst of power and send me careening to the ground to land on my back. I used the momentum to kick my feet backwards over my head and come up on them- and just in time, too, as the heavy black shape of a dragon landed solidly on the ground before me. I thrust a saber into its thick hide, braced my weight against it, and flipped over its head, pulling my blade from its chest and turning so I would land facing it I struck again at its back, pulling the beam downward, metal shrieking in protest. I forced as much strength as I could muster behind the blow, opening a deep gouge in the heavy plating before the great wings flapped once, knocking me backwards, and the beast pivoted to face me. I kept to my feet- barely- and kicked in my boosters to dash to the creatures side, stabbing with one saber at what would have been its ribcage had it been of flesh and blood, and parrying a vicious claw-swipe with the other.

I hopped back to avoid another blow and leaped over a slashing tail. Something ran hard into my back and I started, but realized that it was Mayu, and by the force of the blow, she had been thrown there. I grabbed her arm and pulled her off the ground, swinging her roughly out of the way and then diving away myself as both demons lunged and clashed with each other instead of us. I found myself grateful that I was not amid the following tangle of teeth and claws.

"Are you all right?" I used the brief reprieve to ask Mayu. She was bleeding in several places and looked as though she was having trouble putting weight on her right leg. I suspected that she had taken more hits than I had seen. As bad as she looked, however, I would have hated to see what I looked like right about now.

"I'm fine," Mayu lied. "And yourself?"

"Been better," I answered through teeth clenched against the pain. We were forced to end our conversation there, short as it had been, as the two dragons disentangled and streaked toward us, preceded by twin blasts of turquoise energy. I forced myself into the air again, barely avoiding the blast, and hoped that Mayu had faired okay. I was met a half-dozen feet off the ground by the monster with two missing digits and a shattered eye.

"Die!" the creature roared, slashing crossways in a manor that could have divided me into pieces. Fortunately, I moved, having no desire to be chunked at this particular date and time.

"Not very eloquent, are you?" I said dryly in response to its screamed demand. Needless to say, my adversary failed to find any humor in my comment.

I winged quickly around the beast and swung my sabers in a wide arc, putting as much muscle power as I could muster behind it, with the intent of deflecting the flailing tail as I circled. The last two feet of the tail were severed and flung away with a stream of oily blood.

I would have continued my attack, but the sound of Mayu's scream turned my attention to her side of the battle. Following the sound of her voice, I spotted her held fast by the other demi-dragon's claws, one set shallowly yet firmly fixed in her right side, the other deeply gouged into her left thigh. Blood streamed an angry red from her wounds. The creature, about thirty feet in the air, a good distance above my head, ripped its claws roughly from her flesh and hurled her forcibly to the ground.

I pushed myself to top speed and squinted against the wind screaming in my face. I caught her about eight feet off the ground, falling with her for a short time to slow her plummet. I set her as gently on the ground as I could, then spun into an inside crescent kick, catching my approaching foe across the left side of the face. The creature- the one with the damaged leg- reeled back from the force of the blow and the shock of my immediate attack. I was beginning to see the creatures' pattern; speed in for a quick surprise attack, attempt to lay on some hard hits, and retreat, relying on their heavy body-armor to cover them.

Mayu sprang from behind me, limping badly, but intent on making her tormentor pay. She yelled, scything her right-hand blade into the ebony chest-plate. I took a more subtle approach, flying behind it, avoiding the razor-sharp wings, and severed one at the joint nearest the attachment to the body. Free of its power-source, the wing's web of energy spluttered out and it fell, skeletal, to the ground. I did not pause to admire my handiwork, however, though I was satisfied that one beast was effectively grounded, and with a wounded knee joint, that would put it at a serious disadvantage. Instead, I dropped back to the ground, back peddled a bit, and came up behind the one-eyed demon, who had overcompensated his flight path due to my absence from the space I had recently occupied. As I rose behind him, I thrust both sabers upward, intending to slice him into vertical thirds. The armor, unfortunately, did not allow me to get that far, and after wrenching my aching shoulders painfully, I was forced to withdraw my swords and retreat from the monster's retaliation.

It screamed at me, although I could not tell if the vocal storm was a wordless battle cry or a curse directed at me. Flapping its wings in wide arcs, it flew at me and then veered away, as though performing a strafing run. The corner of its wing caught my helmet, and although the armor held, I received a nasty gash over my nose and down my cheek.

I cried out in frustration and pain, retaliating with a quick swing of my saber. It connected with the blue web of the wing and crackled statically before sliding off. I swung again and this time made contact with the massive right arm as the demi-dragon whirled to strike at me. My saber deflected the blow, but my strength was failing quickly and instead of severing the offending limb, I was shoved downward. I allowed myself to fall, kicking in my boosters to soften the landing, and hit the ground running.

Mayu's adversary, though limping badly and unable to fly, still outmatched her by strength, and with both of her legs wounded, Mayu was not in a favorable position. The creature loomed over her, and although she managed to block or dodge most of the attacks, the effort was obviously costing her.

I sprinted in behind the dragon, giving it a "friendly" poke in the back to announce my arrival. Gripping my sword firmly, I wrenched upward with all my might and actually managed to score a deep gash through its armor and into whatever lay beneath. Mayu used the distraction to cram her saber into the thick, obsidian neck, but was knocked away before she could wrench it free. I broke away to find the other demon, but he found me first, swatting me away like a gnat.

Falling hard on my back, I found that I lacked the strength to spring back upward, and rolled over instead, attempting to move out of the way of the dragon's landing. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough, and his clawed foot pinned my right leg to the ground. He chortled some harsh, sickly equivalent of laughter and picked me up by my left ankle in one taloned hand.

..._Not good_, I moaned mentally. _I'm really in bad shape; this has got to end soon, one way or another._ I doubled myself over and jabbed its arm with a saber, using the other one to pull myself upward by bracing the beam between the joints of its armor. It snarled and threw me away like a rag doll. I landed painfully on my side and had to lever myself off the ground with my arms, getting up much more slowly than I would have liked. My one-eyed assailant leapt to the air and dove at me, claws pointing malevolently at my face. I tried to brace myself...

And then the dragon's flight veered drastically to my left as Mayu, despite her crippled legs, leapt onto the creature's flank. She drew her saber over the lighter armor of its lower left leg, sawing through as the monster screamed in icy rage. It's foot fell away from its body, gushing thick, dark blood, and it managed to throw Mayu to the ground. She allowed herself to take the fall on her back, tucking her chin to perform a roll and stand up, using her left leg as little as possible since it was more greatly injured than the right.

"You're hurt bad, Sage," she said needlessly. "These things need to die-" she ducked, rolling away from a one-taloned aerial assault, and I, in turn, sidestepped away form the clumsy efforts of our land-bound enemy. "-And fast," Mayu concluded.

"You have a talent for stating the obvious," I mused sardonically. The one-winged demon opened wide its mouth and fired three quick bursts of energy in my general vicinity. I tried to get out of the way, and successfully evaded the first blast, but the second created a small explosion at my feet and I went down hard, only able to hold up my sabers in defense of the third shot which was boiling angrily toward my face. The beam-blades caught the energy, and I dug my elbows into the ground for leverage, attempting to push it back the way it had come. My strength, however, was utterly failing me, and it was all I could do to hold my position.

The demi-dragon moved in closer, charging another hadoken blast to finish me. The energy had gathered to its mouth when I finally pushed back the shot that was pressing against my swords. The blue plasma-ball flew back to its creator and struck it brutally in the throat, causing it to snap its mouth shut. The blast it had been charging was swallowed back unexpectedly, and by the way the dragon screeched and stumbled forward, caused a great deal of internal damage as well.

The airborne beast came after me now, and I struggled to get to my feet, barely moving out of the way. It hovered a few feet off the ground and lashed at me with its shortened tail. The flailing limb caught my left flank and sent me flying literally into the arms of the one-winged demon. It tried to give me a claw-filled bear-hug, but I managed to kick in my boosters and fly just out of range. _My fuel-cells are getting low_, I realized. Then I caught sight of Mayu's dagger still crammed into the monster's neck. The demi-dragon snapped at me angrily, and I moved slightly to the side and kicked the protruding pommel of the weapon with all my might. It ripped free, half-severing the grotesque head.

The mortally wounded dragon attempted to gurgle a dying roar, and did so in a muted, liquid manor. Blood gushed from its gaping neck as it thrashed about. The blade, which had spun through the air in a wide arc, landed in Mayu's outstretched hand. With an enraged yell and a flying leap, she landed atop the dying beast and plunged both sabers into the top of its skull.

I landed a powerful blow and divided the creature at the waist. Somehow, it still had the strength to slash at me one last time, and, swinging my sabers upward, I lopped off both of its arms. With a final, keening cry, the monster- all four pieces of it- fell to the ground and poured its blood out onto the soil.

_One down_, I thought, though not in relief by any means. _But at what cost?_ I looked at Mayu, who was barely able to stand on her wounded legs, and probably in a lot of pain as well. I myself could not go on for much longer. Although my surface wounds were finally closing again, that did not help the blood loss. I was exhausted, badly wounded, and on the verge of collapse.

"Well, you've reduced that one to torso-boy," Mayu said nonchalantly, as though commenting on a movie. "But I'm not sure if you've got the strength to fight the other one, and I'm having trouble walking." As if in answer, the remaining demi-dragon swooped after her, knocking her from her feet. She sprawled across the ground, ending up on her back with her daggers pointing up in a defensive position.

I ignored my weakness and leapt to her aid with the help of my jets. I slashed at the angry face, but it jerked its had back agilely and took to the air like a vulture, lunging viciously at me. I barely moved aside in time, sidestepping quickly out of the way. The demi-dragon trumpeted a challenge, circling back at me and Mayu. I pulled her from the ground, allowing her to put the bulk of her weight against me, and led her to the motorcycle which, fortunately, was still in one piece. She got on without complaint- testament to how weak she must have felt- and started the machine quickly. Unfortunately, the remaining demi-dragon opted to prevent this and flew at her, shrieking furiously.

"Watch it!," I called. She leapt from the bike and the dragon knocked the piece of equipment flying a good six or seven feet while Mayu rolled over and came to her feet. She went for the motorcycle again, stumbling on her wounded leg, but the demonic beast came down between her and her goal and snarled something that sounded to me like "I think not."

I sprinted toward my presently abandoned land chaser, not intending to desert my comrade, but knowing that, in my condition, there was little that I could do on my own. The demon saw my mad dash through its one eye, roared, and flew at me defiantly, leaving Mayu to her own devises. _That could be counted as both a good thing and a bad thing_, I noted, watching the dragon barrel toward me with all speed. I was greatly in need of my own speed at the moment, but that seemed to have seeped, like my strength, out of my system with my blood.

The demi-dragon somehow missed its target, diving just in front of me, skimming the ground a bit too closely, and falling nose-first in the dirt. _Only one eye... His depth perception is off._ It was only a miniscule victory in our favor, considering the shape that we were both in, but it had just saved my skin. Small as it was, I was grateful. I noticed that the monster was having a bit of trouble getting to the air again, since it was missing its left foot. It hobbled up awkwardly on its three remaining limbs and flapped its great wings, rising upward from the ground until it was hovering in a more natural position.

While it was otherwise distracted, I mounted the land chaser and started the engine, which came on with a mechanical whine. Mayu managed to get to her bike and pull it upright, perusing the surface for the extent of the damage. The demi-dragon, now airborne again, whirled to chase after her, preventing its prey's escape. I brought the chaser around and fired the lasers at its retreating form. The shots that hit the wings seemed to dissipate harmlessly, but the ones that connected with the massive body left smoking pits in the armor, weakening it. Like any predator finding itself the hunted, the beast left its former target and came after me.

_At least it doesn't seem to have much more intelligence than an animal_. The idea of something this strong that was completely sentient was a bit too disturbing to dwell on at the moment. _And these ones are smarter than the last_. I shrugged it off and continued my scattered fire, watching the creature closely as it swooped at me, charging an energy blast. I floored it at the last possible moment, and both dragon and plasma ended up just shy of their target. I chanced taking one hand from the handle bars in order to activate a saber and swing a crescent of energy at my foe. It sparked against his pitted, scorched armor, and I flung another for good measure. The dragon dodged out of the way of the second wave of energy and snarled, but I was already speeding away.

Mayu had finally successfully gotten on her bike and was beginning to move again. I nodded to her and gestured with my chin to our right. She took the hint and raced off in that direction, which led to the wasteland outside of the city. I put my saber away, fired another cluster of shots into our foe who was moving to pursue, and followed after her.

The dragon chased after us a bit more slowly than I had expected, probably having some system trouble from the inflicted wounds and resulting loss of blood- which, in the creature's case, amounted to coolant, joint lubricant, fuel, and whatever else was necessary for the function of its pseudo-life. Despite the crippling effect that the leaking wounds were having on it, it continued to gain on us, though much more slowly than before. We were well out of populated areas once it was finally close enough to be a problem.

Our terrain, as of the present, had once been a part of the sweeping cityscape, but after a rather ugly terrorist attack compliments of a group of marauding Mavericks some years ago, it had been abandoned and gradually reclaimed by the desert. People normally did not venture out this far unless their intent was something on the grayer margin of the law, making it a relatively safe battleground as far as bystanders were concerned. It was one less worry, not having to think about the possibility of innocent humans being harmed due to our battle.

I surveyed the sand-filled path ahead of me which was once a street. _Mayu's motorcycle won't have much traction here... _Dunes had slowly moved in against man-made structures over the years, gradually creeping forward as time went by. The irrigation and general bustle of the city held the desert back, but here, given free reign, it was claiming the land for its own once again. Dusty, weathered buildings poked up from the sand like headstones, marking the passing of a once prosperous populous.

I shook off my thoughts- which had only invaded my mind for a few seconds- and told myself that, at whatever cost, I would never let a disaster like this strike the humans again as long as I was alive. They may have grown complacent and a bit selfish as of late, but I felt that they deserved some peace after all they had been through. I glanced over my shoulder, looking for both Mayu and the demi-dragon. The girl was beginning to have a bit of trouble handling her bike on the unforgiving terrain. _Hover technology is so much more effective_, I mused. Glancing back again, I realized that something was missing from the picture. _Where's the demi-dragon?_

I received my answer when it dove at me from the worn skeleton of what once must have been an office building. Taloned hands outstretched, it moved to decapitate me. I uttered a startled exclamation, swerving so sharply that I nearly over-turned my vehicle. Mayu, surprised by my actions and the sudden appearance of our enemy in front of us, turned the other way. The motorcycle's tires slid dangerously on the sand and for a moment, I feared that she would topple from the bike. Somehow, she maintained control, much to my relief, and steered the machine onto some of the clearer roads.

The demi-dragon cornered sharply in the air, attempting to follow me closely. Having other plans in mind, I drove full-circle around a derelict building and came out behind the creature. Laying on the lasers, I peppered it in the back with heavy fire, juking my course to go around and beside it, where I activated a saber and sent another half-moon of red-violet energy slicing through the air toward it. The dragon stretched one of its wings out to catch the blade-like shape, and it sparked and dissipated against the azure energy.

I shot past my dark nemesis and turned my chaser in a tight one-eighty to make another pass. The demon, however, retreated backward about a hundred feet and began charging a large blast, cloaking its wings about itself like a protective cape. _Starting to learn a little, huh?_ I kicked the bike forward in full throttle, firing despite the fact that it was relatively ineffective. _So long as he thinks that's my intent._ The distance between us was closing fast, and the monster rose in the air and came at me, ready to fire.

I gave my land-chaser one final burst of speed. Twenty feet. Fifteen. Ten. Five. I released my hold on the handle bars and leapt upward with all of my remaining strength, boosting myself further by using up more of the precious fuel in my jets.

The impact itself sent out a small shock wave, and the following explosion was enough to level several rickety structures. I was thrown about a bit in the air, but remained relatively stable while I waited out the fireworks. Shrapnel spit in all directions, and I had to be mindful to avoid flying debris. The fireball itself was brilliant enough that I had to cover my eyes. When I looked again, chunks of black armor and twisted metal were all that remained of the demi-dragon and my land-chaser, burning angry orange and blinding blue. _The dragon must have released its shot just as the bike hit, making it even worse on itself._

I slowly sank to the ground, weariness threatening to claim me. The adrenaline- or whatever equivalent I have to it- left my system, and I collapsed on the ground, barely staying up on one knee. I heard the sound of footsteps crunching through the sand, and then felt Mayu's hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me up.

"Are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?" I muttered with a bit more venom than I intended.

"No... not really." I allowed myself to be pulled to me feet by may armpits, wincing when she accidentally put pressure on my left bicep, which had been slightly impaled near the start of the battle.

"My bike's over there," she pointed. "It wouldn't handle on the sand, so I had to park it. Can you make it over there?"

I nodded and stumbled after her, occasionally accepting a helping hand when my legs threatened to give out. Mayu gingerly hoisted her wounded leg over the bike, and then I got on behind her. She reached to turn on the engine but paused, turning to me.

"And you were worried that I'd trash your land-chaser?"

I looked at her blankly for a moment. "Mayu?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I awoke, struggling to recall where I was. _I really should know this_... My sleep-muddied mind utterly refused to cooperate and focus on one thing. Bits and pieces swam back to me; the battle, the bikes, Phase... Each thought brought a separate set of feelings with it. The battle and the memory of the demi-dragons reminded me- rather harshly- that my body ached all over. I decided that whoever's bed I was in, I would just stay there for now. Secondly, I recalled with some amount of sorrow my destroyed land-chaser. _That thing wasn't cheap_... I sighed inwardly. _It's not like I used it, anyway_.

My recollection of Phase was slightly more alarming. Who he was, where he came from, who he was created by, and who he worked for were all inevitably unknowns. The Resistance was out of the question; if they possessed weaponry like that, we would have known about it, or at least would have seen some sort of evidence to arouse suspicions.

I decided, with all of the recent events, that it was time for a meeting with Neo-Arcadia's governor. Between running a war and putting down minor Maverick uprisings, as well as worrying about the energy crisis, I did not have time to run a city as well. Still, I was the commander-in-chief of all of Neo-Arcadia, and I was not afraid to throw my political weight around, if need be. _This animosity toward reploids, especially those in the defense system, has got to stop. It's gotten ridiculously out of hand when they don't even trust their own leader._ I paused and thought a moment. _Unfortunately, that's not exactly an uncommon scenario._

Though I had not yet opened my eyes, I was fast approaching the clarity of mind that signified full wakefulness. _But where the_ heck _am I_... I still could not seem to remember. _...Maybe it would help if I opened my eyes._ I did so, and without moving my head, surveyed my surroundings with a curious eye. A white ceiling, first and foremost, greeted my wandering glance. I let my gaze travel down pine-green, marbled wallpaper to a cream-colored carpet. _I suppose I should remember coming in here. I remember passing out on the bed..._

I glanced at the comforter that was pulled over me. It was an unobtrusive floral print. _I think I'm in a girl's room_. I began to remember a bit more; Mayu had driven us to the home of a human friend of hers, although the friend was apparently out of town for awhile. I had been exhausted, and after phasing out the upper half of my armor, crawled like a wounded animal into the bed that was offered me. _I wonder how many days I slept for?_ I thought, knowing that when I pushed myself too hard, I was apt to hibernate for rather long periods of time, especially since I often deprived myself of normal rest.

I moved and flexed my limbs one at a time, testing out the damages and trying to figure out how much the self-repair systems had fixed. My left arm was cramped and aching, which was no surprise. I ran a finger over my cheek, relieved to find that I could feel no major scar from the gash I had suffered. _Not that I really care, but disfigurement doesn't particularly sound like a fun thing_. My legs were both stiff, probably from an unknown number of days' lack of movement. Slowly, I sat up, feeling gradually inching back into me. I felt light-headed for a moment, but that soon passed, and I swung my legs over and sat on the side of the bed, rubbing my forehead absently.

The air felt uncomfortably cool on my bare shoulders, and I phased on the upper part of my armor, minus jets and helmet. I sat a moment, trying to reorient myself with relatively unfamiliar surroundings. The room was impeccably clean, and impersonal to the point of peculiarity for someone's home, even for a guest room, if that is what it was. I shrugged off my thoughts, since they were irrelevant at the moment. Getting up, I opened the door and stepped into a short hallway. I walked through the house, glancing quickly into each room that I passed. I had begun to wonder if I was, in fact, alone in a stranger's home when I poked my head into what appeared to be the living room and spied Mayu lying motionless on the couch, helmet resting on the floor next to her. _Sleeping_? Stepping as lightly as I could, I crept in to see. _Must be,_ I thought when she did not stir. _Rest, then. I daresay you need it as much as I._

I turned to leave the room, but stopped when I accidentally kicked something that was lying on the floor. I picked up the book, noting that it must have fallen from Mayu's hands when she fell asleep. I set the novel on the footstool and walked away. _Well. Even the mysterious Mayu has a pastime_. I glanced around the empty house. _Wish I had one. And sitting and thinking doesn't count._ Unfortunately, that was _all_ there was to do, and I flopped unceremoniously into a kitchen chair. I supposed that I should be attempting to stretch out my cramped limbs, having slept for several days, but I really did not feel like it. In fact, nothing sounded so interesting as going back to bed at the moment. I was debating doing just that when my keen ears picked up a rustle of movement from the living room, followed by slow, light footsteps approaching my present position.

"I thought I heard you go in there," Mayu commented, walking into the room. I noticed that her left leg moved with a sort of unsteady stiffness that told me it was not completely healed. _No surprise. My arm feels like crap, too_. The girl sat down in a nearby chair, favoring her sore leg. "I knew for sure when I opened my eyes and saw that you moved my book."

I chuckled. "Observant. I figured that you just dropped it when you fell asleep."

She shrugged. "Nope. I don't fall asleep when I'm in the middle of something." She leaned her chin on her hand. "so, how'd three days' rest do for ya?"

I groaned. "I think I could use another week."

"I know exactly what you mean," she sighed. "But I suppose you should probably get in touch with the other Guardians. I'll bet they're starting to wonder where their 'great leader' ran off to."

I groaned louder. "That means facing Leviathan's harping."

"Ah, to face one's fears," Mayu laughed. "You didn't even flinch at a battle with two opponents who were much stronger than you, but the thought of a verbal battle with Leviathan has you scurrying for cover."

"It's not that," I chuckled. "She just gives me a headache, and compounded on the fact that I feel horrible already I really don't need that right now." We sat in silence for a few moments. "In truth, though, I _do_ need to contact the Guardians, 'though. The last thing they need is to be caught off-guard by one of those demi-dragons.

Mayu tapped one finger lightly on the table in a monotonous rhythm. "I dealt with plenty of dragons before now, and they've all gone down fairly easily. But I've noticed a bit of an incline in difficulty fighting them lately; sometimes a little smarter, sometimes a little bigger, or stronger, or faster... It's always _something_." Her finger stopped drumming, and she absently cracked each individual knuckle in turn against the tabletop. "Thing is, these last two were more _everything_, and a lot, too. It seems like they're working up to... something." She pursed her lips in obviously troubled thought.

"This is no good," I mumbled, stating the obvious, and not particularly caring that I had. "If they're using these as guinea-pigs to eventually create some sort of super-weapon..." I allowed the thought to trail off, shaking my head in frustration. "Somehow, we have to find out who's making them and put an end to it before they put something out that we may not be able to deal with."

Mayu's shoulders slumped visibly. "Just what do you think I've been trying to _do_ for the past three years?"

I glanced over at her. "Three years? If the demi-dragons have been harassing Neo-Arcadia for that long, then why didn't I know about it sooner?" I narrowed my eyes, giving her a rather challenging stare. "You're trying to say that you alone are responsible for beating them back." I shook my head, not believing. "Please don't take this as an insult, but you really don't seem to be a strong enough fighter for that."

She smiled wanly. "You're right, of course, Sage. I'm not very strong. But neither were they, until lately. Not even a year ago, I may have hunted down one smaller, weaker one in the course of a month or two. Now, I've faced four in the past week. And right in Neo-Arcadia, to boot. They're bolder, smarter, stronger, and all around more of a pain in the butt to kill." She sighed, gazing down at the table, and uttered on final, sarcastic word to end her explanation. "Yippee."

I rested my elbows on the table. "This undeniably reinforces the plans I already had to speak with the governor of Neo-Arcadia about opening another factory. It's the only way we will be able to produce a substantial number of Pantheon X-drones. I suppose I could just order it to be done, but the more civilized- and politically rewarding- path to take is probably to at least pretend to negotiate."

Mayu snorted rudely. "I can't imagine what you want more of those useless drones for. They could almost be worth the trouble if they weren't so dumb..."

I glared. "'Useless' indeed. If they were really so worthless, then why were we able to turn back so many Resistance assaults with them?" I unconsciously stroked a hand through my hair. "True, they need very specific orders to function in battle properly, but if used correctly, an army of X-drones can be a devastating force." I gazed at Mayu meaningfully. "You should be careful what you call 'useless' and who you criticize. You've shown me little enough respect, and up until now I've chosen to overlook it. Remember that."

Mayu stared at me evenly, and I absently wondered if I had angered the woman with my indignant speech. _No matter if I did,_ I though crossly. _She seems to forget that I am commander-in-chief of all of Neo-Arcadia. Someone needed to put her in her place._

"Oh, well. Sorry 'bout that," Mayu shrugged, surprising me with a light laugh. _Man, this girl goes through more mood-swings..._

I placed my hands flat on the tabletop and stoop up. "Don't worry about it. I suppose it's my own fault for encouraging your informality. Either way, I have more important things to worry about as of the present. I can't imagine that there are communications equipment in this home that would be adequate to patch me through to the Neo-Arcadian base. Fortunately, I should have just enough fuel to fly there. I can come back for you..."

"Forget it," she said, waving her hand as though to wipe away the offer. "I'll be fine here for a day or two, and then I'll go straight on to the Resistance base."

"Are you sure?" I questioned, arching an eyebrow. "Your wounds are substantial enough that you may require some maintenance."

"I'm fine, I said." she insisted. "If I need something that badly, the Resistance could provide it. I just want a little more rest."

"As long as you're sure you don't require any help," I said, slightly defeated. "I'm leaving now."

"Later," She responded with a half-hearted wave. I noticed that she appeared very tired and worn. _Don't overdo it,_ I directed at her mentally. _I'm really not one to talk, but you look like you've overworked yourself a bit too much for your own good._

Instead of commenting any of my thoughts, however, I returned her careless wave and left through the front door. Activating my jets, I flew with all speed back to my comrades.

Fefnir's response, in light of the situation, was exceedingly enthusiastic. Perhaps a bit _too_ enthusiastic for my taste, which is probably what caused me, in an off-handed, unthinking manor, to simply tell him to "do whatever he felt necessary," and then I proceeded down to the med-center for some much-needed maintenance. Leviathan hurriedly accompanied me.

"Are you sure that was wise?" she prodded, not quite scolding- yet.

"No... not entirely," I responded in a tired manor. "So, go with him."

"What?" she questioned, startled. "Me?"

"No, the invisible person behind you," I answered, slightly irritated. "Who else would I mean?"

Leviathan seemed taken aback. "I just didn't think that..."

"That what? That I trusted you and Fefnir to make correct decisions? You both are Guardians for a reason, and I know that I can count on the two of you. You are a quick thinker, and a leader in word, and Fefnir a strong fighter and a leader by action. You two have worked well together in the past, and I am sure that you will again for this." I cocked an eyebrow. "Any _other_ questions?"

Leviathan stuttered for a moment. "It's just that... well, lately, I know we've all been... I don't know. I guess I kinda figured you though we were idiots."

I surprised myself by laughing. "What do you mean, 'thought?'" Leviathan glared. "In all seriousness, Fairy," I said, letting the grin slip off my face, "I know lately we've all been under a lot of stress. I think it would do you two well to get out a bit and do something other than push papers. After all, we don't want to end up at each other's throats."

Leviathan paused and smiled. "Thank you... sir."

I mock-glared. "What's with this 'sir' business all of the sudden? You, of all people, don't need to get all formal on me." I let a slight smile tug the corners of my mouth and placed one hand on her shoulder. "Now, go tell Fefnir that you will join him on his reconnaissance-slash search-and-destroy mission." She grinned at me and walked off down the hall at a good clip. I knew that, although she would never admit it, she enjoyed working with Fefnir a great deal, and was itching for a real battle almost as badly as he was.

_Unfortunately, I think I've seen a little_ too much _action in the past week or so_... Once I arrived at the med-center, I was hustled through one diagnostic after another, poked with needles, prodded with various tools, and eventually forced to drink a rather rancid-tasting concoction for what reason only the devil could guess at before the final test was run. By the time they actually allowed me to lay down, I was more exhausted than when I had arrived at the medical center. _Should've just stayed with Mayu_, I though irritably. _At least she let me sleep_. I felt a small twinge of concern for the girl and wondered briefly how badly she had _really_ been wounded. I was quite certain that she probably needed medical treatment much more than she would admit. _Oh, well. With any luck, she'll get what she needs with the Resistance_. With that, I let my concern pass, along with the relative irony of that thought.

My mind turned to a recollection of my meeting with Fefnir and Leviathan. When I had returned, I immediately summoned the two to my office and gave them a brief explanation of everything- including my recent absences from the base. They had seemed a bit hurt at first.

_"Why would you keep all that from us, Sage? Leviathan questioned, a wounded expression on her face. "Don't you trust us?"_

_I rested my chin against my knuckles. "Of course I trust you. If I didn't, then who else could I trust?"_

_"You've got a funny way of showing it," Fefnir grumbled. "And as far as your whole, 'live and look like a human' thing, we're made that way, too." To demonstrate, he phased his helmet off and brushed one massive hand through spiky burnt-blonde hair._

_"Probably," Leviathan put in, "It's a growing trend for those with the time and money. Y'know, make us seem more and more human so the humans will accept us easier."_

_"Hey, this stuff's not important right now," Fefnir broke in. "That sounded like some battle you had. It's been awhile since I had a real fight..."_

_I shook my head. "This is not a game, Fefnir. These enemies... and this 'Phase,' whoever he is... we don't even know what they want. The worst thing is, if I had to venture a guess, the demi-dragons are to them what the X-drones are to us- mere foot soldiers, some stronger than others."_

_Fefnir chortled. "Foot soldiers, huh? Good, that means that I'll be able to trash an entire army of them!"_

_Leviathan glowered at him. "You're not listening; this is a serious situation. These things aren't just training drones, or even Resistance soldiers. Didn't you see how badly injured Harpuia was by just two of them? Three days, and he still hasn't completely recovered yet."_

_"Eh, he just needs maintenance. Anyway, he would've done better if he hadn't had to watch that Mayu-chick's back the whole time."_

_"Mayu is a competent fighter," I said, defending my friend. _Friend?_ I thought. _When did that happen?_ "She may not have the strength and ability that we do, but she is still a valuable and intelligent ally."_

_"Whatever," Fefnir shrugged. "All I'm sayin' is that with three power-houses like us..." He glanced at Leviathan. "Okay, _two_ power-houses..."_

_"Not funny," Leviathan said icily._

_"It shouldn't be such a big deal. We could each hold our own against one- maybe more."_

_"Point taken, Fefnir, but what do you propose to _do_ about it?" I said dryly._

_"Well, I thought we could start out by scouting. The surrounding terrain, for the most part, would be pretty undesirable for any kind of base of operations, and what is, we already control. That greatly limits the possibilities, unless they're coming from far beyond the outer territories. Limits it so much, in fact, that it pinpoints only two locations." Fefnir jabbed one large finger at the four-foot by three-foot topographical map on the office wall. "Here, in this heavily forested area, or here, in Pinnacle Canyon."_

Fefnir being smart?_ I mused. _That doesn't happen very often._ I decided it was better off if I did not say so, but Leviathan possessed a good deal less tact than I._

_"Since when did the idiot learn to read maps?" she quipped with a mocking grin._

_"Oh, for the love of-" Fefnir spat, pounding his fist against the map. The flimsy paper crinkled in, showing the dent in the cork-board beyond. "Why do I even _bother_?" He fumed._

_"Calm down, Fefnir. I'm going to put you in charge of this. We'll call a meeting with the other officers, and you can decide how you want to brief them."_

_"M-me?" Fefnir stuttered. "C'mon, I"m not much of a leader..."_

_I shook my head. "Do whatever you feel is necessary. I trust you on this."_

I stared at the sterile white ceiling above me, remembering with some amusement the shocked faces of my fellow Guardians. _Fefnir's not used to being in charge. He doesn't know what to do with himself._ Despite that fact, however, the meeting in the conference room had gone quite well, and Fefnir had decided to take a small contingent of his soldiers to scout the dense coniferous forest to the far north-west of Neo-Arcadia. Inwardly, I was grateful that it was one less thing that I had to worry about at the moment.

I did not realize that I had fallen asleep until the com-unit next to the bed began to beep incessantly. _Fefnir reporting in_, my fatigue-fogged brain managed. Not sure what to expect, I sat up and made a grab for the chirping device, inadvertently knocking over a pitcher of water which landed on the floor with a clunk and a splat. _That was graceful_. As the staff hurriedly cleaned up my mess, I flipped on the com.

"Harpuia. What is it?" I probably sounded more irritable than I intended, product of a sleep-clogged throat.

Harpuia?" Fefnir's voice crackled faintly over the com. "I think you'd better trans over here. This is-" The transmission ended in a flurry of static.

"What?" I called into the com, louder than necessary.

"...aking.....sig....nt."

I threw the com down in frustration. I figured the last message was something akin to, "You're breaking up; the signal is faint."

Hopping from the cot, I rushed past the startled medical staff and into the hall. The head staff member called after me that I was in no condition to go on a mission, but I ignored her and sped off to the transerver station.

"Send me to the last known coordinates of the reconnaissance team," I shouted, coming to a stop only once I was on the transerver.

"Y-yes sir!" The surprised operator stuttered. "Confirming location; initiating transfer..."

I teleported into a dense cluster of pine and looked around circumspectly. _Not a cluster of pine,_ I corrected myself. _The whole forest seems to be this way; I can hardly see ten feet in front of me._ Fortunately, my keen sense of hearing was serving me quite well, and I followed the obvious sounds of battle until I caught sight of Fefnir's crimson armor flashing between the trees.

"Fefnir," I called, alerting him before I was too close; startling a man with a gun that size was generally not a good idea.

Fefnir glanced briefly over his shoulder, nodded, and turned back to the battle. "Glad ya could make it," he grunted, firing several short bursts of fire from his cannon. The explosive shots took out several large blue spruce, which toppled loudly against their siblings, taking a handful with them.

"Care to explain this? This wasn't supposed to end up as a full-blown battle. Not yet."

Fefnir launched three more quick blasts from his fire-buster and pointed with his left hand, which was free. "Y'see that?" he growled, indicating a black draconic shape that hovered high in the air on cyan wings. "I consider that a problem."

"So, there was one here..." I said thoughtfully.

My vermilion companion barked a laugh. "One? Try several dozen."

"This doesn't sound promising," I ground and launched myself into the air, sabers flaring to life. I was met half-way by Phoenix Magnion, and with a small nod of acknowledgment, we both streaked toward the airborne demi-dragon a pincer attack. It howled and tried to meet Magnion's flaming charge, but I swept in behind it and stabbed a saber through its back to protrude from its chest on the other side. Magnion lashed his flaming, whip-like tail out to grab the demon around the ankle and wrench it downward, toward the ground. The force of the pull jerked the creature off my blade, and I made a clean cut diagonally through to burst out between its shoulder and neck. _Strong armor, but not as strong- or as big- as what Mayu and I faced_. The monster cried out its doom, spraying blood black as jet from its opened mouth and its wounds. It fell to the ground, taking several branches and larger limbs down with it. I watched it flop about for a moment like a wounded bird before its movements began to lessen to nothing more than a small twitch every now and then.

"Excellent work, Commander," I praised Magnion before diving after another demi-dragon. In the group fighting along with Fefnir and Leviathan, I recognized many of the soldiers and decided that Fefnir had done a fine job selecting his team. Among the ranks, I noticed Sorin Cerussite, who was Leviathan's soldier and assistant, as well as Panter Flauclaws, my own soldier who had volunteered to act under Fefnir's command for this mission. I also spied Arcan among the troops, and was surprised that I actually recognized him. I dropped down next to Leviathan, landing a vicious chop on the snout of another dragon.

"Where'd you come from?" Leviathan croaked, startled.

"Uh... the med-center," I replied curtly. Leviathan ducked under the dragon's swing and impaled it through the chest on her harpoon. It screamed and struggled, spattering greasy, black blood over the two of us, and pulled itself roughly off the spear. I moved in quickly and decapitated it.

"Fefnir called you?" Leviathan wondered, scything her weapon through the air to sever the arm of yet another demon.

"He said I'd better see this," I said, gritting my teeth as I leapt up and over an advancing foe. One of its wings sliced vertically down my forearm, but I ignored the burning pain and retaliated by slashing with both sabers diagonally downward, one after the other, and then thrusting upward again. The swinging tail aimed to take my legs out from under me, and I readied myself to leap over it, but that was not necessary. Cerussite, moving gracefully as a predatory cat, swept in and severed the tail completely with a swipe of his massive claws. Twisting himself into a lazy spin, he swiped the claws again over the monster's face, slicing three deep gashes across eyes and muzzle. The dragon tried to roar, but its head, barely holding together as it was, could not sustain such a motion. Cerussite completed his spin with an upward strike from the other set of claws, and the demon's face dropped away in bloody chunks.

I glanced at Cerussite; a lithe, efficient killer, seemingly fond of grisly kills. He was a chilling individual to keep company with. Although humanoid, his face never held any expression. He was an utterly silent person, taking everything in with his eerily glowing cyan eyes. He was far and away the best soldier that Leviathan had ever trained, despite the fact that he had been created mere months ago. He looked at me now with those cold, calculating eyes and nodded an acknowledgment. Then, turning, he streaked away in a blur of white and ice-blue.

Although I no longer had a flying tail to dodge, I leapt into the air anyway and somersaulted backward to hover next to another enemy. The creature was firing plasma shots into a group of soldiers, and already there were three down at a glance, mangled and bloody.

Another monster rose to the left of the first and joined in the assault, adding to the pile of bodies. I quickly dispatched the first creature, thrusting my arms outward to sever both wings at once. Although it did not die when it hit the ground, it would be an easy target for any one of my allies. The second demi-dragon was preparing to charge the group, but one of the soldiers' number charged the demon first. As he leapt though the air, I realized that it was Arcan, bravely putting his life on the line for his fellows.

_I'll make sure you don't_ lose _your life for that..._ I kicked off a nearby tree to add extra speed to my attack and shot directly for my foe. Arcan had stabbed it repeatedly with a small beam dagger with little effect, and was swiftly thrown to the ground. Before the dragon could follow up on its attack, I, with both sabers pointing in front of me, rammed it. As I did, I swept my arms outward and down, cleaving my enemy around the mid-section and flying through the following explosion of blood and circuitry.

When I landed, I pulled Arcan off the ground with one hand and wondered briefly if I was as covered with black liquid as he. _Probably more so_, I decided.

"That was brave... but stupid," I admonished.

Arcan shrugged and smiled through the demi-dragon blood on his face, causing the expression to appear a bit odd. "Hey, their welfare before mine. I couldn't very well let that thing torch all my friends, now could I?"

I shook my head with a sigh and gave him a rough shove back toward the relative safety that the other soldiers had found. "Talk later. Fight naAHH!" My sentence ended in a cry of surprise as I was slammed hard from behind. I found myself headed for the thick trunk of a tree face-first, and managed to turn myself around to take the blow with my feet. Once my momentum had stopped, I fired my jets and rocketed upward, causing the demi-dragon to crash into and through the tree. It hovered for a moment just beyond the broken stump, and I was on it before it could regain its bearings.

I landed on its back feet-first and swiped both blades downward, relieving it of its cerulean wings. I leapt off before it crashed to the ground and then allowed myself to free-fall with my swords before me. The force of my decent drove the blades deep, one through the chest, and one directly into is left eye and out through the back of its head. Before I could turn away, If felt a tell-tale whisper of wind on my face and was smacked away by a set of wicked blue claws. I moved to retaliate, but the monster was suddenly engulfed in flames as Fefnir fire one fully-charged fireball into its back. While it was otherwise occupied, its body spurting gouts of flame, Fefnir ran up and back-fisted it across the snout. It reeled back and roared, and Fefnir fired three quick blasts down its gullet. It exploded from the inside out, and as another dragon moved to take its place, Fefnir and I moved with it to intercept. He flashed me a malicious grin and swung his gun like a cudgel, batting the demon from the air.

I dashed over to impale it, but it rose swiftly, knocking me to the earth. I sprang up as Fefnir, phasing his gigantic buster off, leapt after it. He hit it hard from underneath and lifted it with the force of his jump. At the pinnacle of the spring, he yanked the beast downward and threw it with all his might at the ground. The landing was hard enough to shake nearby trees, and Fefnir quickly followed knee-first onto its neck. It gnashed its teeth at him, but Fefnir landed an incredibly strong blow to its head with his fist.

"You've been watching pro-wrestling again, haven't you?" I asked sardonically as I battled with another winged nuisance.

"Nothin' wrong with that," Fefnir said gleefully. The demon broke free and slashed with its claws, gashing Fefnir's face and chest armor. He yelled in rage, and, stepping back, phased his gun in again. Grabbing one side in his left hand, he motioned as though to pull the whole apparatus apart, but instead divided the buster, partially by phasing, into two. Now equipped on each arm, Fefnir turned his added fire-power on the demi-dragon and fired in rapid succession. The fireballs at first seemed to do little on its armor, but it soon became apparent that many shots were getting through to do real damage.

I back-flipped in the air to end up behind my foe, stabbing both blades into its back. Pulling one up and one down, I divided it vertically. It fell with nothing left to hold the two pieces together but a segment of the tail.

Two more dragons converged on our position. I performed a solid mid-air ax-kick on one. It didn't fall to the ground, but it forced it low enough that Fefnir, who had gone back to his one-armed buster, grabbed its clawed foot in his left hand. The beast flapped frantically, lifting Fefnir from the ground. I whirled and slashed the other dragon in the mouth. The beam-blade severed its lower jaw and the creature spat dark blood in my face. I elbowed its damaged jaw and then cut my jets briefly to fall and help Fefnir.

Although he was too close to make proper use of his gun, Fefnir continued to hold on and fire at his adversary persistently. Some shots burned into the armor, but most went wide or sizzled against the wings. The demon turned and tried to snap at him, doubling itself into an awkward position. I kicked it sharply in the face upon my decent and then severed its ankle, grabbing Fefnir's wrist before he could fall. Although he was not light-weight, as Mayu was, I had no trouble hoisting him over the battlefield while he blasted away with his weapon. The first few mini-explosions caught the dragon that had picked him up and blew a large, smoking, sparking hole in its chest. Once that one was down, Fefnir turned the gun, charging it all the while, on the jawless one and fired a single, powerful fireball. The head was blown clean off with a spray of blood, and Fefnir scanned the area for a new target.

A demi-dragon flew full-force into my back, digging its claws in. Fefnir and I fell from the air, and I landed uncomfortably on top of him upon impact. He unceremoniously shoved my legs off his back to attack the offending creature, but, as I got to my feet, I saw that Flauclaws was taking care of the problem. Using his incredible jumping skills, he pounced on the dragon, an impressive twenty-five foot leap, and ripped his metallic claws into its back. One wing sustained heavy damage and sparked out. As the demi-dragon fell, Flauclaws jumped off easily and landed in a crouch. Cerussite was waiting for the monster when it hit the ground, and with a series of lightning-fast strikes, ripped it to shreds.

Cerussite silently assessed the dismembered corpse of his enemy as though admiring a painting. His ice-chip eyes narrowed at something unknown, and he turned away, walking calmly back to Leviathan, his commanding officer.

"Man, that guy gives me the creeps," Fefnir grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. Blood ran down his face from an unknown wound somewhere under his helmet. His scarlet armor was splattered and smeared with the darker fluids of the demi-dragons. "Ah, well. That wasn't too bad a fight. Gonna have to polish my armor again, though..." He wandered away, heading toward Leviathan, probably to gloat about his kill-count.

_He'd better not make her_ too _mad, or he may as well be counted as one of the dead..._ I soared into the air a short distance to assess our damages. The black bodies of demi-dragons littered the forest floor, but other than that, we had lost a few soldiers, all of them rookies. _Good. No serious wounds to deal with; at least none that I can see._ That was a positive sign, since our mission was not over yet, and now that I was here, I intended to see it through. I landed and moved to approach Magnion when I heard a sharp crack behind me. Turning, I saw Fefnir holding the side of his face and Leviathan glowering at him, seeming to tower over him although he was a full seven inches taller than her. _He may as well be counted as one of the dead._


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The body count was four in total, and I commed a cleanup crew to take care of that and the one soldier who had suffered heavy injuries. The rest of us very quickly tended our wounds and moved on.

"With this many enemies," I told Fefnir, "there has to be some kind of base around here."

Fefnir nodded, looking thoughtful for a moment- an expression that did not quite fit his features. "I think I should send someone on a ahead to scout the general area. Wouldn't want a big group like this to stumble onto somethin' without knowin' what we're stumblin' on to."

I held my hands out in an exaggerated shrug. "That's completely your call. You're the leader this time. Would you like me to call over Flauclaws or Magnion?"

Fefnir shook his head slowly. "Naw... I have someone else in mind for the job." He turned and looked over his shoulder. "Hey you... Arcan."

Arcan looked up questioningly. "M-me sir?"

"Yeah, you. Come over here." Fefnir glanced at my incredulous face as Arcan trotted over. "Kid talks too much, but he's got his heart in this... and he's light on his feet."

I gave Fefnir an "If you say so" shrug as Arcan brought his mud-green-and-gray-armored self to our present position.

"Hey rookie, how'd ya like to do some scouting?" Fefnir asked him, clapping the confused-looking man on the shoulder.

"Scouting? Me?"

"Do I need to give ya a definition? Yes. You. Scouting. Now."

Arcan snapped a salute. "Yes sir!"

"You know what to look for," Fefnir nodded. "We'll still be moving, but not very fast until you return."

Arcan turned to go, turned back, saluted again with another, "Yes, sir!" and ran off, disappearing nimbly through the trees.

"He's a good kid," Fefnir commented. "He's got some potential, he just needs more training."

"He has diarrhea of the mouth," I muttered under my breath, low enough that I did not think that Fefnir would hear.

Fefnir did hear, and guffawed loudly. "Now, that just sounds _nasty..._"

I rolled my eyes. "Grow up. You keep calling _him_ a kid, but you're the one who acts like one." I paused. "If I remember correctly, he's been around longer than we have. And he doesn't look like a kid any more than the rest of us."

Fefnir glared at me, his eyes mocking. "Well, you look like a kid to _me_."

"Very funny," I growled. I knew that I had a rather boyish features, but the fact that it was Fefnir pointing it out was just plain irritating.

"Anyway, he just acts like a kid, although he's got smarts where it counts," Fefnir continued.

"Unlike some people I know..."

"Why are you guys always bustin' my chops?" he complained. "What, d'ya think I'm too stupid to know you're havin' fun at my expense?"

"You make fun of Leviathan," I pointed out.

"That's revenge! She does it to me all the time!" Fefnir crossed his arms in a huff. "I don't get no respect."

I raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps if you learned to speak proper English, you would."

"Perhaps if you learned to speak proper English, you would," Fefnir mocked in a high voice, probably trying to impersonate my voice in his own deranged mind. I knew that I was not exactly a bass, but my voice was not _that_ high. I glared.

"Who's acting childish now?"

Fefnir made a _hmph_ sound in the back of his throat. "If you're done lecturing me on semantics, I _did_ have something I wanted to say about Arcan."

I waited.

"I think, with some training, the kid could be pretty good. I wouldn't mind teachin' him." Fefnir paused and looked at me expectantly.

"No," I said simply, in a tone of voice that said this subject was not up for discussion.

Apparently, Fefnir missed that tone of voice, and continued anyway. "Why not?"

"Why not?" I said irritably. "How many reasons do you need? He's weak, irresponsible, fool-hearty, and, to top it off, he talks so much, he'd never hear a word you said in training anyway."

"Aw, he's not that bad. he may talk a lot, but he listens good, too. He's not too bad in a fight; with some modifications and strength enhancements, he could be pretty good."

"No means no, Fefnir," I snapped. "Drop it."

"No," Fefnir growled, beginning to get angry. "And he's not fool-hearty, he's just got balls. Why, he'll even spar against _me_. Everyone's usually afraid to spar me."

"So that's what this is all about," I smirked. "No one else will spar you, so you want to make the only person who will stronger."

Fefnir shook his head. "Look, I need another good soldier under me. You've got Burble Hekalot..."

"No prize there," I interrupted.

"Panter Flauclaws, Phoenix Magnion..."

"Actually, Magnion's under both of us. He was under Phantom, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Fefnir muttered. "He reminds us of how much of a 'better leader' Phantom was every day."

I blew my breath out my nose. He was right; Magnion was a good soldier, but he often ever-so-subtly reminded us of just how inferior to Phantom he thought we were. _Just because we didn't give up our lives in battle,_ I thought. _Because he was willing to throw everything away, when we realized that we needed to survive long enough to see this through._ I could understand Phantom's sentiments a little; he had the code of honor of a ninja, therefore it was tradition that he would suicide after losing a major battle. _But if we all did that, there'd be precious few of us left..._

"Your mind's wandering again, isn't it?" Fefnir broke into my thoughts.

"Maybe..." I said evasively.

"What about this time?" He wondered.

I shrugged. "Phantom, I guess. Thinking about what has been; it's not important right now."

Fefnir shrugged. "Yeah, he was a good guy. Always so calm... except when he fought."

We walked in silence for a few moments, neither of us wishing to say anything negative about the deceased. Despite that, I knew what we were both thinking... _and always breathing down our necks, watching for any sign of disloyalty..._

Suddenly, Fefnir chuckled. "How did we get so far off the subject? Now, as I recall, we were discussing my need for another good commander..."

"What?" I interjected. "It's 'commander' now?" I shook my head. "This discussion was over before it started."

"Oh, come on," Fefnir grumbled. "You're even getting Aztec Falcon back. I don't see anyone moving to rebuild Anubis."

Sighing, I absently kicked at a branch by my feet. "That's because Anubis' memory chip was too damaged to rebuild him. Falcon's, we managed to salvage."

"Well, that's great n' all, but Arcan-"

"No!"

"Why?"

"I told you why."

Fefnir opened his mouth to retort, but the aforementioned individual chose that moment to emerge from the trees before us.

"Hi, guys!" he said cheerfully.

I grit my teeth. "Since when is that how you greet your superior officers?"

Had he been capable of blushing, he probably would have. "I- err- uh... I-I'm sorry, sir..."

"Stop hastlin' the kid," Fefnir admonished.

I ignored him and glared at Arcan. "What did you find?" I asked this, of course, without truly expecting a valid answer; at the level of incompetence that I felt I was working with, a show of any amount of intelligence would be nothing short of shocking.

"Hey," Fefnir protested. "You put me in charge of this, remember? I ask the questions." He turned back to Arcan. "So, what did you find?" I felt like repeatedly banging my head on a tree.

"Sir!" Arcan said, suddenly formal again. "There is an enemy outpost just west of here. It's lightly guarded; I believe that the demi-dragons were the main line of defense. If we approach from the right and circle behind, we should be able to take them by surprise, since there is a second entrance there with only one guard."

It was a display of intelligence; I was shocked.

"All right," Fefnir ordered, "get back with the other soldiers. We're gonna pick up the pace."

We all approached the position that Arcan had given us silently. Upon my quick inspection, I discovered that the structure was quickly put together, and definitely not meant to be permanent. It was a flimsy metal building, painted a dark army-green so as not to stand out. A small area of the forest floor had been dug away, and I estimated that, with the twelve feet or so that sat above ground, there was probably that much below ground as well. Arcan was quite correct about the compound being lightly guarded; in fact, I saw only four guards total in the frontal area, and they seemed to be nothing but ordinary reploids with guns.

We circled to the back, as per our original plans, undetected. As Arcan had stated, there was only one guard, although he seemed more alert, and perhaps a bit more capable than the others. _Why does this seem so cliché..._ I motioned to Fefnir and the others to stay where they were. The red-eyed warrior scowled at this, but did as I ordered. I speedily but stealthily bolted to the side of the building, just out of the guard's range of eyesight. Moving quickly and silently along the wall, I allowed myself a discreet glance around the corner. Unfortunately, the reploid was out of sight in the doorway. _Gotta take him out without letting him raise an alarm_. I watched patiently until he reappeared again.

The dull-blue-armored soldier stepped into my line of sight, turned to his left, away from me, and started walking, muttering grumpily to himself. Drawing a single saber and activating it, I sprinted up behind him in a blur of speed and drew the red-violet blade over his throat so quickly and efficiently that he did not even have time to gurgle. Blood, of a rather orange hue, spurted from the wound as the body slipped to the ground. I ignored the corpse and motioned Fefnir and Leviathan over.

"I thought this mission was mine," Fefnir hissed venomously. "Why're you callin' all the shots?"

"Habit," I shrugged. "If you have an idea, now is the time to voice it."

Leviathan grabbed my arm and pulled me backwards, albeit gently. "Here's my idea," she said softly, just under Fefnir's level of hearing. "Let Fefnir prove himself. It's a guy thing, I guess." She grinned at me and winked. "Not that you would know anything about that..."

I scowled. _Those two will joke at the most inappropriate times..._ I decided, however, that Leviathan was most likely right; Fefnir's pride would probably be wounded if I did not even allow him to attempt leading this mission before taking over myself. _I suppose it_ would_ be a figurative kick in the balls to just yank command out from under him._ I was so used to being in charge, I realized, that I tended to assume leadership even when I did not mean to. I made a conscious effort to back off, despite the fact that following Fefnir's orders was going to be difficult to grow used to.

Fefnir quickly assigned several groups of soldiers to posts in the forest around the compound. Each team of soldiers was ready to contact us by com with the push of a button in the case of anything being amiss. Leviathan also remained outside with Cerussite, a bit of added force to give the enemy a hard time until we could join them. I hoped that the precautions would be in vain.

Fefnir lead me, Flauclaws, Magnion, and a group of solders- including Arcan, much to my dismay- up to the structure itself, past the dead blue reploid. The red Guardian examined the locking mechanism on the door for a moment, puzzling over the best way to open it. He conferred with Magnion for a brief moment, and then gestured to me with a jerk of his chin to join them.

"Crack it or shoot it?" he asked when I approached. "Whad'ya think, Harpuia?"

I shrugged. "I can try to crack it, but no promises here."

Fefnir nodded and I examined the mechanism myself. It was a fairly simple lock- a key-pad with numbers from zero to nine with the intent of the user to put in a three- or four-digit code to open the door. The problem was, if I input the sequence incorrectly, I was afraid that an alarm may alert the enemy of our presence; in my experience, fiddling with security locks was a bad idea unless one knew exactly what one was doing. After some thought, I drew a saber.

"I thought you were going to crack it?" Fefnir questioned.

"Bad idea," I said back, activating the blade.

"What, so you're gonna kill the lock instead?" he asked incredulously. "That's just as likely to set off an alarm as inputting the wrong code."

"I know. I'm not destroying the lock; I'm destroying the door."

Fefnir looked at me blankly for a moment. "Oh." And then with a bit more understanding, "_Ohhh_."

I crammed my sword into the flimsy, thin metal and slowly pulled downward. As I had thought, the surface was weak and peeled away like scorched paper. I carved an entrance large enough to admit everyone in the group and then kicked the weakened part in. It fell through with a clatter and I peered through the opening. A dozen guards peered back, guns trained on my face. I jerked my head back.

"Crap."

With that exclamation, gunfire exploded through the opening, sending Fefnir's team scattering like a flock of birds. I flew back with the ranks and cursed my lack of a long-range weapon as I watched Fefnir decimate the already half-destroyed doorway with his fire-buster. I felt Magnion's presence behind me and glanced back, knowing that he, like me, was a bit more well-equipped for close-range combat.

He watched the battle passively for a moment before acknowledging my presence. "A rather brash move you just made, Master Harpuia." I could not read his face, since it was incapable of showing expression, but I could sense the admonishment there, just the same. "Perhaps Master Phantom would have had a better plan."

I clenched my teeth against a retort, knowing that it was not the time or the place to get bent out of shape over Magnion's loyalties. _Still, he'd better accept me as leader sooner or later, or I may have to have him demoted for his insubordination._

The fire-fight continued to rage, although neither side was making much headway. We were, however, making mincemeat of the wall. I soared up, over the battle and spied the guards from the front locked in combat with Leviathan and Cerussite. Needless to say, they did not last long against an efficient team such as that.

I landed atop the structure, above the besieged room, and slashed a hole in the ceiling. Dropping through, I twisted my body into a spin and bisected any individual who was unfortunate enough to be close to my landing. Most of the soldiers were concentrated at the remains of the door with their backs to me, and I used my split-second of surprise to my advantage. As the back ranks turned to face their new threat, I sent a crescent of energy into the line, cutting two in half and severing one's arm. I launched myself into a low, dangerously fast flight and slashed open several more. Their numbers had grown, although not by enough to worry me, since the first wave had nearly all been destroyed already.

I yelped and shot upwards as a huge fireball, very obviously of Fefnir's doing, rushed through the doorway and turned the room into an inferno. Fortunately, I managed to fly myself through the rent in the ceiling I had made to get out of the explosion. _Note to self: stay away from wherever Fefnir's firing._ My armor normally held up fairly well against extreme heat, but I was never fond of inviting trouble. As the flames cleared, I dropped through the hole again and quickly dispatched anything that remained alive. Fefnir clambered through the door- not really a door any longer- and surveyed the mess with a sadistic smile.

"We make quite a team, don't we?" he grinned, holding up his gun.

I frowned in displeasure. "You nearly torched _me_, you idiot," I retorted.

"Oh, c'mon. You got out. Besides, I knew a little shot like that wouldn't hurt you _too_ bad." He walked up to the door that adjoined the guardhouse to the rest of the building and unceremoniously kicked the thin metal in with one huge boot. The rest of our soldiers quickly followed us through and into the poorly lit hallway beyond. I decided that I did not like our present situation. If we were attacked, we would not have room to fight. I glanced to either side, at the doors that were unlabeled there. Fefnir gestured me to the door on our right, implying that I should "open" it with my saber, as I had the one outside. Instead, I gave him a meaningful glance, hit the button, and opened it the normal way.

Both doors were nothing but soldier's quarters, the first being deserted, the second having one lone occupant who cowered away from Fefnir's advancing form.

Fefnir grinned toothily. "Tell me everything you know, and I may let you live- for awhile."

Instead of being shaken, however, the reploid drew himself up to his full height- which was not very much in comparison to Fefnir, or even to me for that matter. He glared into Fefnir's dark-skinned visage. "I'd rather die," he hissed, and spat directly into the red general's face. Wiping the saliva away, Fefnir moved toward him with a growl.

"That can be arranged," he said dangerously. "The only question is, do you want it to be slow and painful, or _really_ slow and _really_ painful..."

My attention was taken from my friend's growing rage by a high-pitched... _resonance_, far above the hearing level of all humans, and most reploids. _That's..._

"Fefnir, get back!" I cried out, shoving him roughly from the room and slamming the door.

"Harpuia, what's-" He was cut off by a loud explosion, and the door blew outward and knocked him against the wall. He pushed the offending metal away, examining his shoulder armor. "Aw, man, now I need a new paint-job..."

I glared humorlessly.

He shrugged. "Well, I do. Anyway, I think we'd better move on... I don't think he's likely to talk," he said, gesturing to the demolished room.

I wanted to simply sigh, shake my head, and either take over the mission myself or leave and let Fefnir handle everything without my having to see it and wonder if it was a good decision or not. It was not, by any means, that he was doing a bad job, it was simply that the flippant attitude he held even in the most serious of situations sometimes made me want to punch him, quite frankly. Both Fefnir and Leviathan often seemed overly carefree, and it frustrated me to no end. I worked endlessly to fill my position, and at times I felt that they took that for granted, occasionally ignoring my orders or poking fun at my seeming "lack of personality." _It's hard to have a personality when all you were made to be is a warrior..._ Somewhere in the back of my mind, I believed, perhaps, that by putting Fefnir in charge of this mission and leaving all of the important decisions to him, he would be more inclined to understand the burden that I perpetually carried. Not that he was foreign to commanding an army, but for the most part, he was usually in charge of the fighting, and that was that as far as he was concerned.

I realized that I had let my mind wander and mentally chastised myself for doing so- and in the middle of a mission, at that. We had reached the other end of the hall, which was not very long, and were met by two more doors. Fefnir moved to open the one on the left, but it was locked. I thought I heard him growl to himself, and then he punched straight through the flimsy alloy and destroyed the locking mechanism within, causing the door to slide open part-way. It was now too badly damaged to move far on its track. _This structure is definitely_ not _built to last_, I mused. Looking past Fefnir and into the darkened room, I discovered that what we had just broken into was a large weapons locker. I was initially tempted to have the men raid it for useful supplies but upon further inspection, I decided that the arms within the closet were far outclassed by anything possessed by Neo-Arcadia.

The door on the opposite side revealed a stairwell to the basement level, and the group followed Fefnir down. _Where is everybody?_ I wondered. _It couldn't be that we've retired everyone here... could it? If that were the case, this entire operation on our enemy's part was extremely poorly executed. Something just doesn't make sense to me. We've got soldiers, demi-dragons, and a semi-portable base... and still no resources. No possibilities as to where it could have come from. I can only hope that we find something more useful in Pinnacle Canyon._

Two doors stood at the bottom of the stairs, yet again on either side of us. For once, one was actually labeled, and simply read "Med." Fefnir hit the button to open the door and looked inside. One wounded reploid and two medical staff were occupying the room, all with weapons ready. _Expecting us. No surprise; we haven't exactly been subtle._

"Put the weapons down, and you can just be taken as prisoners of war," Fefnir offered, knowing as well as I that if we retired everyone, then no one would be left to question.

In answer to Fefnir's request, one of the medical staff fired his gun, nailing Fefnir in the forehead, which was, fortunately, protected by his helmet. The red warrior frowned. "That gave me a headache. Now, let's see what happens when I do that to you..." He hoisted his buster up to point at the offending reploid. The man, like an idiot, continued to fire, but it did little or nothing to Fefnir's armor. Fefnir fired two uncharged blasts, one at each medic. It was more than enough to take them down. He then gestured to the wounded man, who was still holding a weapon, but seemed to have realized the futility of firing it.

"Harpuia, I think you may be better with negotiating skills..."

I shook my head, hearing the same familiar resonance. "Uh... we'd better go," I said, shooing Fefnir and the others out of the clinic door, and closing it soundly behind myself. I had just stepped away from the entrance when a resounding _boom_ shook the hall, and the door, being farther away from the explosion than the other one, buckled outward, quite incapable of ever sliding open again.

"Y'know, I really don't think that any of these guys are going to talk," Fefnir stated bluntly.

I glanced at the door. "Obviously."

We took the other door, ending up in another hallway, though wider and shorter than the one upstairs. Fefnir kicked in the next door that we saw, and I was met by the sight of a dozen computers lined neatly against the walls, along with large, wall-mounted monitors and a holograph-emitting battle display chart that dominated the center of the room. Everything was powered down; the monitors black, the view-screens dead and blank. Fefnir knelt and attempted to turn one on, but nothing happened. I tried another, but to no avail.

"They're pretty intent on keeping us out of their business," I grumbled in frustration. "They've completely cut the power to this room; and they managed to dispose of anything that could possibly contain any useful information." I began chewing my lower lip. This suddenly was not going so well. No information, no clues... and nearly all of the soldiers had apparently been killed in the little skirmish that we had created outside. _Could they really have been running this facility, small though it may be, with so few men? There were more demi-dragons._

Fefnir angrily slammed his fist through a computer monitor. "This is _crap_," he fumed. "Th' soldiers self-destruct, the computers are shut down- and probably wiped clean, the only thing we've done since we got here is _fight_."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at Fefnir questioningly. "Since when is that a complaint for you?"

Fefnir pulled his fist out of the computer, knocking the entire apparatus on the floor in the process. "It's not," he admitted. "Usually. But our intent in coming here wasn't just t' kill stuff... as fun as that may be."

I sighed, feeling his frustration. "All we can do is take a couple of hard drives back to base and see if there's anything on them. One way or another, we need to find out where this is all coming from.

Fefnir grunted an acknowledgment and motioned over two soldiers. "You two... you heard him. Grab a couple of hard drives and transfer back to base." He hesitated for a moment. "Obviously, not from the computer I just destroyed..."

The men complied with his orders, and I followed him back out into the hall.

He shook his head. "It hardly seems worth it to explore the rest of this place... if there was nothin' in the war room, it's pretty likely that there's nothin' anywhere else."

I shrugged. "Your call."

"We'd better make sure we've cleared the place out first," he decided. There were only two more doors to explore, and one was nothing more than an empty energy-refilling station. Many reploids could simply eat to refill their power, but such comforts seemed to be bypassed here. I myself rarely ate; I often recharged at the same time that I caught my brief hours of sleep, neglecting my own bed more often than not.

The first door may have lead to nothing, but the second- that was another story entirely. Another security lock blocked our way, and when Fefnir attempted to put his fist through the door, he only left a shallow dent.

"Reinforced metal," he muttered thoughtfully, bringing his fire-buster to bare on the offending door. "This calls for some heavy-duty firepower."

"Hold on, Fefnir," I cautioned. "You wouldn't want to damage whatever's beyond, if there's anything important. I think that I can find a better way around this..." I looked at him meaningfully. "With your permission."

I imagined that I could practically see Fefnir's head swelling in size after hearing his superior ask his permission to do something. _Maybe that wasn't a great idea on my part... it means putting up with his ego for awhile._ Fefnir only grinned, much to my dismay.

"Well, I suppose, if you think you have any bright ideas..." he smirked casually. _Okay, definitely_ not _doing that again_.

I looked closely at the key-pad, wondering for a moment how I would figure out the sequence. Then something caught my attention. Although most individuals would not spot something so minute, I noticed that the one, the two, and the five all had extremely small signs of wear on them. _Whatever the sequence is, it has to be involving those three..._ I stared hard for awhile and decided that the one was a bit more rubbed off than the two and the five, leading me to believe that it was a four-digit sequence using the one twice. _Order is the problem..._

"Hey, you gonna do somethin' or jes' stand there?" Fefnir grumbled impatiently.

"Shut up," I snapped without thinking. "I'm working on it." I turned back to the lock and raised my hand as though to press the buttons, but did not do so just yet. _Concentrate,_ I told myself. _There's got to be a way to figure this out..._ My thoughts were broken by a tiny, tinkling voice from just beyond the door. _Is that my imagination?_ I could not hear any words, and I was not sure if perhaps it was fatigue finally toying with my mental pathways. _Maybe I'm just going crazy..._

"What's the matter _now_?" Fefnir questioned irritably, taking a step forward. "Really, why won't you just let me blow it up, if ya can't figure it out 'n all..."

"Do you hear something?" I interrupted.

"No," Fefnir replied curtly. "C'mon, man, just open the bloody door..."

"I hear something!" Arcan chimed in, coming forward and pressing an ear against the door. "It sounds like a voice."

_Great. Just the person I wanted help from._ "All right, back off. If this is wrong, I don't know what will happen." I set my jaw and tapped in _one-two-five-one_, and... the door hissed open. I let out a breath that I had not realized I had been holding.

"You did it!" I was greeted by a small, bell-like voice. _What?_ I ignored it for now and looked up to find another door and security lock, this one with a palm-scanner. _Well, that's not gonna work._

"Fefnir," I sighed in resignation, "it's all yours."

He grinned happily and promptly blew down the door with a shot from his buster. Before I could get a glimpse of the room beyond, he charged in, the rest of the men brushing hurriedly by me to follow. _Way to throw caution to the wind, Fefnir. Announce your entrance to the world, and then run on ahead to meet whatever awaits._ I began to follow, mentally criticizing Fefnir's judgment call all the while. I was just stepping through the door when I heard the voice again.

"Hey, you're not just gonna leave me... are you?" It was high and feminine... a bit too high for my liking, I decided- it was almost mousy in quality- and it had no apparent source. I gave my surroundings a quick perusal, but saw nothing.

"Come on, you can't be that blind! Down here!" I looked down and saw a small storage crate; the kind used for energy, most of the time.

"Yeah, that's right... in the box! Now c'mon... let me out! I don't want to die helping these idiots."

I released the latch and a tiny glowing figure flew out. A cyber-elf. "Um..." I began.

"Feyliya at your service!" she cried joyously, executing a cocky salute. She was tiny; perhaps two inches tall, at the most, and humanoid. _Very humanoid,_ I noticed. She appeared to be a red-headed sprite, naked and winged; something straight from a fairy-tale. The glowing aura around her shimmered alternating shades of electric violet and neon orange. _She must be a rare elf; she looks nothing like most of the other cyber-elves I've seen._

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare?" she scolded, flitting energetically about my head and making it very difficult for me to look at her. "Anyway, call me Li; I'm your new best friend!"

"Indeed," I muttered disinterestedly, and continued into the next room. I was just in time for the alarmed yells of the soldiers and Fefnir's shouting frantic commands. Two demi-dragons were emerging from the shadows, and a third, larger one was standing before Fefnir, apparently attempting to find out who could stare down the other first.

The two smaller ones concerned me very little; we would make short work of them. It was the larger one that worried me. He was about the same size as the ones Mayu and I had fought, but he looked... different somehow. His body was, perhaps, less demonic and more draconian, a bit lither, with a longer neck. The armor was more heavily reinforced, and jagged, even down the chest-plate, and in the eyes, something sparked that I had not seen in any of the others I had fought; true intelligence. This one was a true reploid, not just another weapon. _This... is not going to be fun. He looks as though he could take on an army by himself, and we only brought a scouting force._ I grabbed my com and radioed Leviathan.

"Leviathan, do you read? I asked quickly.

"Yeah.. we're all good out here. Cerussite and I cleaned up the soldiers in the front."

"Well, get to the back of the building and come in through the 'entrance' we made."

"...Why not the front door?"

"Whatever!" I snapped. "Just get in here, however you manage it! We're on the basement floor."

"Yeesh, fine. Don't get yer nose outta joint; I'm on my way," she said irritably and cut the transmission.

Both smaller dragons dove at the group of soldiers, and in the blink of an eye, Fefnir and the larger one were locked in intense combat. I ran to his aid, flying upward when I reached the monstrosity and slicing his chest and face with both sabers. I kicked off of his head and flipped backwards, distancing myself from my foe before he could react to my sudden attack. Fefnir fired several blasts at him, but they appeared to do nothing on the heavy armor. He phased in his other gun and pummeled him with shots.

"That was cool!" Li chirped, flying past my face in a flash of orange and purple. "Do something else!"

I scowled. _What a nuisance. Of all the worst times to pick up a cheerleader._ I began to fly back to my adversary, but at that moment, he raised his arms and sent out a shock-wave of energy that bowled Fefnir and I over, and sent Li across the room to smack against the far wall. She fluttered disorientedly back to me and landed on my shoulder, shaking her head dizzily. The demi-dragon activated a set of flaming orange wings that connected to his arms, and flapped once, raising himself into the air. He glared, and then, to my surprise, turned and laughed at Fefnir.

"I had heard that your strength was great, Fighting Fefnir." His voice was a powerful baritone and seemed to fill the room every bit as much as his impressive physical bulk did. His eyes shown green, and the tattoos on his body glistened a brilliant cerulean. "I am disappointed," he continued. "Ah, and Sage Harpuia... So-called master of the skies. We will see who rules both land and air! I am General Baphomet..."

"Cut the monologue," Fefnir spat. "You gonna kill me; bring it!"

Baphomet roared and dove at Fefnir. The crimson general rolled to the side and blasted the monster in the head with a charged shot. It did nothing. I used the opportunity to streak in at is back and attempted to cut through its right arm, but the energy of my blades did not so much as scratch the armor. _This may call for some... improvisation. Leviathan, I hope you get down here soon._

I instead took out my frustrations on one of the lesser dragons. The two of them were attacking quickly into the group, and then retreating to avoid Flauclaws' and Magnion's counter attacks, although they did not seem too terribly worried about the other soldiers, who could do nothing but fire their guns in an endless, cacophonous rhythm. One dragon swooped in and grabbed an unfortunate soldier and, sinking dagger-like teeth into his neck, ripped his head off and spat it out on the floor, dropping the body. Bits of reploid gore colored his teeth and ran down his jaw as he roared.

I yelled in answer to its cry and bolted after it, sabers flying. To my surprise, it agilely dodged my attack, retreating and hissing at me. _Added speed. This could almost be fun if not for General Baphomet._ I flew at it again, and again it dodged easily. It stood at its full height on the floor and chortled at me mockingly. Its mirth faded, however, when Arcan, who had managed to get behind it surprisingly fast, opened fire on it with armor-piercing rounds. Several bullets ripped into its back and out through its chest. Its sickly laughter turned to a scream of rage and pain, and it whirled to face Arcan.

"Dodge this," the small reploid said in a low voice, and then stabbed his beam-dagger through its eye. The demi-dragon jerked away, the energy blade still imbedded up to the hilt. I saw my opening and split its head down the center. Pulling Arcan's dagger from the dead socket, I tossed it to him. _Well, Fefnir was right about one thing; he's got balls._

I turned to incapacitate the other demi-dragon, but Flauclaws was one step ahead of me. The reckless fighter jumped on the dragon, taking a deep stab wound from the claws, and ripped his own set of claws through the creature's torso. Wounded beyond functionality, it fell to the floor, destroying various pieces of nearby machinery and creating a crater. The soldiers fell upon it to be sure that it would never rise.

Fefnir and Baphomet were locked in combat, Fefnir having given up his gun in favor of melee fighting. Surprisingly, the pummeling that he was giving it with his fists appeared to be more effective than his buster had been. The armor seemed to simply resist energy; at least, to the extent that harming it with a beam saber or a gun that shot energy would take a very long time. _Well, if that's the case..._ I deactivated my sabers and flew into Baphomet with a full-force kick. He reeled backwards, into a right hook from Fefnir. I followed up with a solid punch of my own to the neck and then brought my elbow up hard into his chin. He managed to retaliate with a slash of his claws, but I dodged backwards and the attack missed. He, however, lunged after me and sank his teeth deeply into my shoulder. I could feel hot blood pulsing from the wound, but I dared not wrench away, or he could have taken my entire arm off. I consciously forced myself not to yell in pain.

Fefnir, on the other hand, did yell, but in rage, and head-butted Baphomet in the stomach. The sharp horns on the vermilion warrior's helmet pierced through the armor, and the demi-dragon let go of my shoulder to roar and retaliate against Fefnir. I dropped to the ground, holding my right hand over the bloody mess of my left arm. _Great; this is going to limit my fighting._

"You'll pay for that, foolish Guardian!" Baphomet was screaming at Fefnir.

Fefnir scowled darkly. "Famous last words; I'd like to see you try." The dragon snarled angrily and moved as though to bite Fefnir's face, but the Guardian kicked his legs out from under him, purposely falling on his back, and kicked upward, striking the dragon's throat and lower jaw. I leapt and hook-kicked our adversary in the back of the head. He stumbled forward, dazed but unharmed.

_Our attacks are obviously phasing him, but I can only do so much with hands and feet, and its not enough to do real damage on armor like that._ I looked around for Flauclaws, figuring that he may be able to deal some heavy damage with his steel claws, but he had been badly wounded enough that he was effectively out of the fight for the time being. _Why does his fighting style have to be so reckless?_

Magnion swept after Baphomet, coming to Fefnir's aid, but his style of attacking could not seem to hurt him. With a great sweep of his flaming orange wings, Baphomet knocked Magnion away. I sprinted in a threw a punch with my good arm, leaving a sizable dent in the chest-plate. _Now there's a punch that Fefnir would be proud of._ The soldiers were firing intermittently at the beast, but the busters did nothing, and the volleys were infrequent for fear of hitting me or Fefnir. Only Arcan's armor piercing rounds seemed to have any effect, but the damage was minimal; Baphomet was not proving easy to take down.

I slammed my knee into his stomach and flew upwards, kicking his snout as I rose. He snapped at me, but fortunately was not able to sink his teeth in this time.

Baphomet fired two blasts of orange plasma at me, too quickly for me to move. I braced myself for a hit... A little, flickering violet light placed itself between me and the shots, and the energy splashed harmlessly over the small shield. Li flew back to my shoulder and sat down.

"We're one for one now. If you want me to do that again... pay me or something." She crossed her arms, looking self-satisfied.

_Powerful little thing. If that's what she can do without sacrificing herself, I wonder what her true function is?_

Baphomet grabbed Fefnir in his talons, gouging them in painfully, and threw the red Guardian against the wall, which buckled outward from the force of the impact. At that moment, Leviathan came running through the door with Cerussite following closely behind her. Seeing the present situation- which amounted to me standing nearby, holding my profusely bleeding shoulder, and Fefnir slowly standing up after his up-close-and-personal encounter with the wall- she drew her harpoon and stood in a battle stance. Cerussite positioned himself a strategic distance away from her, and likewise readied himself for a fight.

_Her harpoon and Cerussite's claws should be of greater help in this battle than what we've been doing._ Leviathan sprinted at the demi-dragon, veering off at the last second to deliver a glancing blow with her weapon. It gouged shallowly into the chest plate, but the enraged Baphomet did not let that distract him. Instead, he turned to meet Cerussite's charge. The frost-blue-and-white combatant moved as though to slash the monster, but subtly changed his course and ducked beneath him, coming up on his right flank and stabbing straight on with his claws. Cerussite was an interesting fighter to see in action; his movements were lucid, casual, almost lazy, but they held an unmistakable grace. He seemed to move in slow motion, and yet, as the eye trained on him, it would suddenly find itself unable to follow, so great was his speed. Thus far, I had found no one- save for myself- who possessed speed greater than his. Baphomet recognized this new danger and took to the air, staying out of Cerussite's range.

Fefnir fired a fully charge blast form his cannon, attempting to rock the demon from the air. The roiling ball of flame struck the dark dragon between the shoulder blades, and his flight dropped just enough for Leviathan to leap up and slash his stomach with her spear. Baphomet dove at her, knocking her to the ground. One orange claw caught her left cheek below the eye and sliced down all the way to her shoulder. I launched myself at him, despite my painful injury, and shoulder-rammed him in the left side. He moved just enough to free Leviathan, and Fefnir forearmed him in the throat. Baphomet clamped down on Fefnir's arm with his powerful jaws, but since Fefnir's forearms had extra armor plating, it did not do the extent of damage that it had to my shoulder.

Cerussite moved in and slashed the dragon along the left side of the face, causing him to let go of Fefnir's arm. Baphomet recoiled, jerking his head back like a snake's, and shot several blasts at Cerussite. The first knocked Leviathan's apprentice backwards, singeing him. He avoided the second and third easily, but was not expecting the fourth that met his trajectory and knocked him off his feet. Leviathan, who had gotten off the floor some time ago, raised her harpoon in challenge and ran forward, swinging viciously at the monster.

Baphomet avoided her attack, but I was there to follow it up with an aerial drill-kick, knocking him back into Leviathan's attack range. He attempted to turn and slash at me, but Fefnir grabbed his tail and pulled with all his might, not letting go although he received a few nasty gashes on his arms, helmet, chest, and stomach from the frantically flailing wings. Fefnir braced himself, feet planted wide, to keep from being lifted off the ground. Leviathan slashed upwards, leaving a deep gouge from stomach to chin, and the dragon roared and launched himself into the air, only to be pulled back down by Fefnir's massive strength. Baphomet twisted in the scarlet general's grip and gave him a solid uppercut to the chin. Fefnir was knocked upward and back, landing on his back on the floor. The demon then took to the air, but suddenly shrieked in rage when he realized that Leviathan was perched on his back, ready to drive her spear in through his shoulder-blades. He angrily threw her off, although she managed to get in a solid hit to his right flank as she fell, and she landed atop Fefnir, who was already rising from the floor. He caught her and set her on her feet as he got up and then launched himself into the air, grabbing Baphomet by the leg, and scaled the dragon's back, pummeling his face with blows once he was close enough. I leapt to help, landing a solid knee into the monster's gut with enough force that he hit the ceiling. I landed again, trying to regain my bearings. The pain in my shoulder was beginning to make me dizzy.

Baphomet regained his flight balance and barrel-rolled, flinging Fefnir to the floor, and then swooped after him, talons extended to cleave his face. Leviathan gave an enraged yell and, displaying a throwing arm that I never knew she had, hurled her harpoon javelin-like into the dragon's chest. So great was the force of the blow that it penetrated through completely, impaling his heart- or whatever equivalent of one that he had- and sprouted from his back. His momentum reversed, and he crashed against the wall, the spear sticking in and pinning him there in reminiscence of a displayed insect. He glared at us, Leviathan in particular, with hateful eyes.

He threw his head back and laughed at us, the action punctuated by liquid gurgles and gouts of ebony blood as it oozed between his ivory fangs. "Enjoy your victory while it lasts, fools," he said defiantly, flecks of blood-laden spittle flying from his mouth. And then he died. As easy as that, he simply hung his head as the vengeful fire faded from his eyes, the tattoos darkened, the energy to his wings and claws cut off. There, pinned to the wall by Leviathan's spear, he seemed no more than a great, black, threatening statue. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Fefnir had apparently forgotten that he was still sitting on the floor- at least until Leviathan, grinning coyly, stepped in front of him and offered him a hand up. He blatantly ignored the gesture and gave her a withering glare instead.

"Now, let's not be a poor loser, Fefnir," She said as though speaking to a child.

Fefnir picked himself up from the floor, attempting to keep his ego in tact- which I doubted would last for much longer. "Y'know what?" He grumbled, a dour expression on his face.

"Hm?" she smiled pleasantly.

"Just- just shut up!" He turned his back and crossed his arms.

"Now, it's no reason to be mad just because you got shown up by a girl," Leviathan sighed, pretending to be serious. "Sure, I just saved your sorry behind and you totally embarrassed yourself in front of everyone and- eyaa!"

Fefnir picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, looking at me plaintively. "Can I lock her up when we get back? Please? Just for a day or two..."

My first response was to approach the situation with the same humorlessness in which I normally dealt with their bickering, but in this case it seemed that Leviathan was entitled to her revenge, and maybe- just maybe- I would help it along a bit, if only for my own amusement.

"You had better watch out, Fefnir," I cautioned. "I'm not so sure that she couldn't take you out. You seem to be getting pretty rusty with your combat..."

Fefnir growled, setting Leviathan none-too-gently on the floor. "You turned on me! Traitor!"

I was suddenly aware that the soldiers were watching us curiously, not used to seeing their leaders poke fun at each other this way. I cleared my throat, glancing at Fefnir and Leviathan, and then discreetly at the gawking soldiers. The two Guardians got the idea, and Leviathan wiped the silly grin off her face, while Fefnir lightened his scowl- albeit, not very much.

"All right, "Fefnir barked, acting the part of general, although I doubt he felt much like one at the moment. "Get General Baphomet off the wall; he may make a good trophy up there, but we should have our lab technicians examine him since there's little else to get info from here."

Several soldiers held Baphomet's corpse to keep it from falling while Arcan wrenched the harpoon free of wall and body and tossed it back to Leviathan. Once the lifeless demi-dragon was down, the three holding him activated their transervers to ship him back to base.

Fefnir's com unit began to chirp, and he snatched it up expectantly, answering, "Yeah, Fefnir here."

I could just make out the voice on the other end from where I was standing, telling him that the computer hard drives he had sent back awhile ago were completely wiped clean. He looked so peeved that, for a moment, I was worried that he may crush the com in his hand. Finally, he growled a simple, "Fine," and shut the device off without so much as an "over and out."

"All you guys... trans back to base," he ordered brusquely. In ones and twos at a time, the troops complied; even Leviathan teleported quickly without a fuss. Within moments it was only I and my vermilion armored companion.

"What're you waiting for?" he grunted, uncharacteristically sullen. "Don't wanna take orders from me anymore, huh?"

"I just want to know what you're up to," I sighed. "I figured since you waited until everyone else was gone to trans that must be you were planning something."

Fefnir smirked, now seeming more like himself. He produced a couple of high-powered explosives, and I stared at him incredulously.

"Dare I ask where those came from?"

His grin widened. "The weapons locker upstairs." His expression soured a bit. "As far as I'm concerned, this whole place is a useless waste of space. I wanna blow it up."

I caught a flash of orange light from the corner of my eye, and Li settled herself on my head. "Explosions are always good..." she chirped_. Great. A mini, female Fefnir._

"What is _that_?" Fefnir wondered, a quizzical expression on his face.

"It's a long story," I sighed, although the story probably was not really that long. "So anyway... you're going to blow it up."

"Yep," he stated simply, beginning to work on setting the explosives. After a long pause, he muttered, "I just wish I could be here to see the fireworks."

I allowed myself a small smile. "You wanna see the fireworks, huh?"

Red-orange fire bloomed like a vicious flower in the forest, shooting sparks and shrapnel high above the treetops. Gouts of flame licked at their surroundings hungrily before falling below my line of sight. I did not have to look down to know that Fefnir, whom I was holding up by one arm, was grinning like an idiot. I was too. High above the forest, we watched our handiwork dye the darkening sky the color of blood as Li hovered happily at my side.


	11. Chapter 11

Hey, I'm posting this today in honor of my 20th birthday! I wanted to let you all know that I've posted a new bio with a link to some of my artwork. I also wanted to say thank you to all of my reviewers; I would name you all, but there's so many, I'd probably forget someone! Anyway, happy holidays, and for those of you who are, like me, in the colder regions, don't let the snow get you down! Oh, and as for the ever-present disclaimer; you know I don't own anything of Capcom's. Not even Sage. Sniff

Sage: Thank the creator for that.

Rioni: That's it! Get back into your chibi form and get on my shoulder, muse!

Chapter 11

Paperwork. If I ever filed it all, I would have a library full. It was piled high on every available inch of my desk, and had been so bad that I had been forced to put several stacks on the floor as well. What was worse was the fact that I was expected to _read_ all of this. Page after page of mundane reports, many of them stating the same thing week after week. These, I had to sign and file away, and occasionally answer a request or question. In the case of many of the others, I was expected to write a report of my own and add that to our great archive that no one would ever bother to look at again.

I was an exceptionally fast reader, of course, being a reploid, but even if all I had to do was page through everything here and not even look at it, I was convinced that it would still take me the better part of a week. That, of course, was dismissing the next boatload of documents that arrived in my office/quarters daily. My head hurt. It did not particularly help that I had neglected the paperwork for the last few days, in light of recent events. Fefnir and Leviathan, too, were probably having similar problems.

A violet light darted in front of my eyes and continued its flight about the high corners of the room. Here was another problem; Li would not go away. She was not particularly good company to start with, but she was insistent that she owed me a "life debt" for saving her. I was beginning to wish that I had left the crate just the way I had found it; unopened. I still was not sure what her function was- other than to apparently annoy everyone around her- she simply would not tell me, insisting that she did not care what she was supposed to do; she just wanted to live. It went directly against the programming of a cyber-elf, but it was hard for me to simply tell an individual- even a two-inch tall individual- that her lot in life was to die.

Cyber-elves were generally illegal in Neo-Arcadia. Their usage was restricted to military function only, and even then they were only available for those who were authorized. The initial crackdown had been before my time, shortly after the Elf Wars, and probably in response to them. Although I could technically allow whatever I wanted, the thought of having a volatile creature such as Li running- or flying- loose wherever she pleased made me just a bit uneasy. Unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing I could do about her; Li did what Li pleased, and not I nor any of my colleagues could do a blasted thing about it. She was small, fast, and made of pure energy. She was not going anywhere unless she wanted to.

_In that case, I suppose I should be grateful that she is insistent on staying within sight of me... But why not Fefnir? Or Leviathan? I don't think I was programmed to put up with Li's level of insanity._ I suddenly realized that I had just read the same paragraph five times_. Great. Even when she's quiet, she makes it so I can't think_. I re-read the page again, this time retaining most of the meaning, and scribbled my signature at the bottom. _All that just to write my name on it and never think about it again. What a waste of time. At least I didn't have to write a report on this one._ I tossed the sheets onto the mound on the floor, which had become my "done" pile. sighing, I grabbed the next paper.

"Wow... it's dusty in here! And there's a really big spider up in the corner..."

I ignored Li's chatter, mentally readying myself for another barrage of her attempted conversation. "Hey, let me help!" She landed on top of a stack of documents and looked at me cutely- at least, that was what I thought she was trying to do. Since I did not look up, I could not really be sure.

"I'll help, really! Please? I wanna do something; I'm bored!" The stack she was on tipped dangerously and she hopped off, hovering in the air again as I, without even bothering to look, shot a hand out and steadied the pile from falling. Li continued talking at me, but I was becoming well accustomed to tuning her out.

Apparently, she noticed this and decided to do something about it. I suddenly found my view of the report blocked by her tiny back-side as she shook it mere inches from my face. "Li, stop that!" I sputtered, now beginning to get irritated. _I'm never going to get this done._

"Well, stop ignoring me! I said I'll help."

"These are here because _I_ need to read them, not a cyber-elf." I scribbled my name on another paper and tossed it on the floor. "Li... please just go away."

She shook her head, a gesture that somehow ended up including her whole body. "Nope. I'll stick with you _no matter what._ You saved me!"

I groaned. "And why, again, am I being punished for this?"

"Hey, what?!" She flew in my face, glaring angrily at me from about two inches away.

I sighed and went back to my paperwork. "Let me help...please?" she begged.

"Fine," I grumbled, and cast about for something on my desk- anything- that could keep her occupied. I picked up an ornamental pen that I never used, and, in fact, had no idea where I had gotten it. "Go in that drawer," I instructed, "and find a pen that looks exactly like this."

"Okay!" she beamed, diving fully into the junk-filled compartment, which I seriously considered shutting and locking. _I doubt that would shut her up, though. Oh well, she'll be there for awhile, anyway- I don't have another pen that looks like this._

Left in relative peace, I continued my work, quite sure that I could get another handful of reports out of the way before she discovered what I already knew. A knock sounded at my door, and, not bothering to wait for my response, Fefnir opened it and came in.

"Can I help you?" I queried disinterestedly. Suddenly, my reports seemed more interesting.

"You. Briefing room. Now."

_Great. Second in command, and he can't even speak in a coherent manner._ "Why?"

"Mayu."

I sighed. So much for getting my work done. "Why are you talking like that?"

"Because it's fun," he smirked. "You should try it sometime."

I gave him a stony glare that was not entirely without humor. "You. Out. Now."

Fefnir rolled his eyes and made a poor attempt to hide his smile. Turning to go, he glanced back at me. "Yer comin,' right?"

I nodded. "She'll have to wait, though. I'm up to my ears in this- this-"

"That's all the evil of the universe right there," he amended for me, gesturing to the papers. "I feel your pain." With that small amount of empathy, he left, failing to shut the door behind him. I picked up the paper that I had been reading. _Now, where was I?_

"I found it!" Li buzzed around happily, waving the pen in the air. A pen exactly like the one I had shown her. _I didn't know I had another pen like that..._

Mayu was not in the briefing room; indeed, it was completely empty. Since Fefnir was the one who had told me to go there, I decided to find him and ask why she was not present. As it turned out, Fefnir was in the maintenance room, and was not very hard to find. I could hear him from halfway down the hall.

"That's pink! I don't wear pink; what'rya tryin' t' do to me here? I ain't Elpizo..." I poked my head into the room to see Fefnir contemptuously staring down the poor reploid who was trying to repaint his armor. To the worker's discredit, I noticed a discolored area on Fefnir's shoulder pad that was obviously fresh paint. I glanced down at my own armor, scuffed, scratched, and discolored. The prideful part of me wished that I had the time to get a new paint job.

Fefnir looked up and noticed me. "Look at this, Harpuia. Tell him this is pink!"

I looked at it. "It's uh... lightish red," I commented, wondering if he would pick up on the irony of that statement.

"Yeah. There's a name for that... It's called pink!"

"I'm sorry! The unfortunate object of Fefnir's ire cried. "It was just a mistake in the mixing. I can fix it," he pleaded.

"Yeah, right," Fefnir scoffed. "You didn't even notice until I said somethin,' then you didn't believe me until Harpuia said so."

I glanced from one to the other and sighed, shaking my head. "You," I directed at our color-blind companion. "Go get your optic sensors checked."

"Y- yessir!" he squeaked and ran off.

"Well, that's great... Now I'm stuck waiting here or walking around with a pink blob on my shoulder," Fefnir complained.

"Stop whining. One of the other staff will do it. Now, where's Mayu?" I crossed my arms.

"Mayu? Oh, she's in the training room." He picked up a rag and began rubbing the wet paint off his armor.

"That's going to make it worse, you know," I stated blandly. "Why is she in the training room?"

"'Cause she got bored waiting for you and I told her to go down an' beat on stuff. It always works for me." The pink smudge on Fefnir's armor was beginning to smear over a larger area. Oblivious, he continued to rub at it.

"Fine. You'd better stop that if you don't want to repaint your entire shoulder pad." I took a step toward the door.

Fefnir looked down at his shoulder. "What the? Oh, bloody..."

I left Fefnir to his pink and red armor and made my way quickly to the training room. _Ignoring protocol, Fefnir,_ I grumbled to myself. _Really, you know she should've stayed in the briefing room._

Mayu was idly kicking a punching bag when I arrived, apparently fully recovered from her last battle.

"Glad to see you're doing better than the last time I saw you," I said in greeting.

She turned and smiled slightly in answer, and then looked puzzlingly over my shoulder. "Picked up a friend, huh?"

I glanced back and saw Li buzzing determinedly along behind me. "Oh, Li," I sighed. "Yeah... she's... insistent she's going to follow me." I smirked at the orange-clad woman. "Never save a cyber-elf unless you want a life-long companion."

"Ah." She gave the bag one final punch and walked toward me. "I hope it's okay that I'm down here. Fefnir told me I should... and that he wanted to spar me later."

I shook my head. "He's constantly looking for someone to fight with. Don't feel obligated to comply just because he said so."

"I don't feel obligated," she smiled. "I want to. A good sparring match sounds like fun."

"You won't be saying that after he puts you into a wall a few times. He's done it often enough to Leviathan." I began walking, headed back to the briefing room "Your choice if you want to get a little messed up... right now, though, I need to collect the other two Guardians so you can tell us what you've found out."

She was silent for a moment, and then said conversationally, "So... been keepin' yourself busy?"

"You could say that," I groaned. "I was beginning to think that you were bad luck... I only seemed to run into demi-dragons when you were around." I allowed myself a short, sarcastic chuckle. "Turns out, maybe you're good luck. At least with you it was two and not two _dozen_."

"_Dozen_?!" she interjected. She looked disturbed and thoughtful for a moment. "This is getting bad. Could you tell me exactly what happened later?"

"Later," I agreed. "Right now, we have other concerns." I knocked on the door in front of me.

"Yeah?" Leviathan's voice came faintly through.

"Meet us in the briefing room. Mayu's here with a report."

"Oh, right." I turned to walk away, Mayu following, but Leviathan was already opening the door.

"Who's 'us,' anyway?" she queried.

"Everyone here plus Fefnir," I informed her. "I'm going to get him since I don't think he has a com on him and I don't feeling like paging him over the loud-speakers."

She shrugged. "Whatever. I'll meet you there."

I turned to go back to the maintenance room.

"So where is Fefnir, anyway?" Mayu wondered.

"Getting his armor painted," I replied. And then, with a hint of laughter in my voice, "Pink."

"What?" Mayu laughed. "You can't be serious. Fefnir would never let himself be seen in pink."

"Pink, pink, pink," Li chirped in a singsong voice. "Big, tough Fefnir wears pink."

Mayu glanced at the cyber-elf. "That, I doubt." To me, she said, "Okay, so what's the deal?"

"Ask Fefnir," I said conclusively. As it turned out, we did not even need to go into the maintenance room to find him; he was already on his way out.

"Hey!" he called, cheerfully enough that I knew the color problem had been fixed. He walked toward us. "Y'see this?" he asked Mayu, pointing to his shoulder pad.

"Uh... yeah..."

"New paint job," he grinned.

Mayu nodded. "Very nice."

"Nice 'n shiny," Fefnir continued.

"And not pink."

"That's right!"

_This is the most pointless conversation I've ever heard._ I led the two back to the briefing room. For now, I had decided to limit it to just the four of us until I knew exactly what Mayu had to tell us. Leviathan was already waiting for us inside, and Fefnir and I took our seats at the table, leaving Mayu to stand before us, looking vaguely uncomfortable.

"I'm not much good at this kinda thing," she mumbled, shuffling her feet.

"Oh, well," Li said, flying from me to Mayu and back again. "You probably don't have anything interesting to say, anyway."

"Li," I said angrily, having not realized that she was still with me- although I supposed I should have. "You're not even supposed to be here."

"Tough, Harpy-boy. You're stuck with me." She stuck her tongue out in my face.

I groaned. "Why not Fefnir?" I muttered to myself. Li flitted over to Fefnir and flew back and forth in his face before coming back to me. Fefnir just looked confused.

"Nope!" Li proclaimed. "You're way cuter!" I glanced around to see my three companions attempting to hide the mirth on their faces- and doing a rather poor job of it.

"Hey," Fefnir grumbled. "I'm cute..."

Leviathan looked at him incredulously. "In _who's_ mind?"

"Enough," I growled. "Li, Out. Now." I gave her a fierce glare.

"Oh, have it your way," she said scornfully. "Probably just some dumb old tactical discussion, anyway." She slipped through the tiny crack under the door. Since she was made of pure energy, if air could fit through it, so could she. I hoped that she could stay out of trouble on her own- doubtful with her pixie-like nature.

"Now," I started again, feeling much calmer this time. "That taken care of, Mayu, please proceed with your report."

She coughed once before beginning, glancing at us nervously. I supposed that giving a report to the three Guardians would be nerve-racking for most people, but it surprised me a bit coming from Mayu; she certainly had no trouble acting casual and speaking her mind when it was just the two of us.

"Um... okay," she started. "Basically, the long and the short of it is that the Resistance is planning a string of small, strategic attacks. Some of the later ones seem to be unclear on the details thus far, but I do know this; the first will be two days from now, on the area code-named the 'Wind Shrine.' In other words, the air force base. You're territory, Master Harpuia."

_Again, I'm not used to her using titles, although I know that she does it just to not seem impolite when we're around others._ Out loud, I said, "How much more can you tell us? How many men? How well equipped, and with what weapons? What time of day, perhaps?" I realized that I was drilling her with more questions than she could answer all at once, but I need every ounce of information that I could get to defend against this potentially crippling attack, and my mind was near bursting with questions waiting to escape my lips. In short, for all I asked, I was holding back much for the time being.

Mayu just glanced at me with confusion in her eyes, not sure which inquiry to answer first.

"Ease up, Harpuia," Fefnir advised. "Let the poor girl breath." To Mayu, he said, "All right, do you know how large a force they're sending?"

Mayu puzzled over this for a second. "I heard a few different figures; I think about three-hundred all together, but they're coming in waves."

"Explain," Leviathan prompted. "What kind of attacks should we expect to defend against?"

Mayu nodded, as though reassuring herself to continue. "The first wave is going to be small; maybe about fifty men or so, and covert. They're going to try to sneak into the hanger and take out the aerial defenses there; fighters, jets, whatever."

I bit my lower lip. "With a force that small? How?"

She shook her head. "I'm ... not clear on all the details. Sabotage and explosives, I think."

"Fifty men," Fefnir said thoughtfully. "They shouldn't be too hard to take care of, especially if they aren't prepared to fight us directly. What about the next wave?"

"It's an aerial raid," Mayu answered with growing confidence. _Fefnir's just easy to talk to. He's only intimidating before you get to know him._ "After they take out your fighter jets and whatnot, they're staging an air-based attack, hoping to hit you while you're relatively defenseless."

"They have the resources to do that?" Leviathan asked, surprised.

"I think they've scraped together everything they have for this," Mayu continued. "About twenty fighter jets, and another fifty men armed with jet packs and RPG's."

"That won't be hard to counter now that we know about it," I stated. "With my air forces, the Rekku army, we will crush them easily." I allowed myself a moment of scorn for my enemy. "Those Resistance dogs won't even have a chance to retaliate."

Mayu swallowed, looking decidedly uncomfortable, and I recalled that she had once called herself a neutral party, for both sides and neither side at once. _Perhaps she still harbors that sentiment in her heart. If that's the case, she'd better get over it really fast. There's no room for mixed loyalties here._

"So, what about the rest of the soldiers?" Fefnir wondered. "So far, you've accounted for only a hundred and twenty. That still leaves a hundred and eighty troops waltzin' around."

"That's going to be a ground assault," Mayu replied. "Including land chasers, a few ride armors, and perhaps a tank or two. Most soldiers will be on foot, though."

Fefnir seemed satisfied with this and leaned back in his chair. "Sounds like my forces could take care 'a that easy." He glanced at me. "What'ya say, Harpuia; you have your Rekku army in the air, and I'll have my Jin'en army on foot. That'll take care of our Resistance problem." He glanced at Leviathan. "Oh. And you can push papers or something while we're gone."

The woman gave him a cold, aqua-eyed stare. Unfortunately for her, her special forces, the Meikai army, had little use where water was not involved. We all had our specialties; hers simply was not needed at the moment. _At least it's not like the Zan'ei forces; lying dormant and useless since Phantom died. As "elite" as they were, there is no one here to lead them who doesn't already have enough responsibilities._

"What time of day is this all taking place?" I queried, bringing the discussion back to more important topics.

"In the middle of the night," Mayu answered, "Or technically early in the morning, I guess."

"You said that the first wave was going to sneak in and disable us," Leviathan began. "Do you know how?"

"By destroying the jets. I already said that."

"No, Leviathan shook her head. "How are they sneaking in? Or where."

Oh." Mayu thought for a moment. "They're coming in through the front, since that would be more unexpected. They were using the cover of darkness to sneak up on you and take out the guards with silenced guns."

Fefnir crossed his arms. "That don't make sense. They have to know that they'll be detected long before they get to the base."

"I think they have stealth suits of some sort that will at least delay detection."

"Well," I nodded. "I think we have all the information we need for now. We will easily turn back their attack and devastate their forces, as well."

Fefnir and Leviathan agreed, and the meeting was dismissed. "Mayu," I said to my brown-haired friend, "you don't have to leave right away. You may stay on base for awhile if you wish."

"For a little while," She agreed. "I owe Fefnir a sparring match."

"That's right!" called the person in question from outside the door, apparently waiting for his challenger. "And I promise; no walls, no power-bombs."

I smiled slightly, about to say something sarcastic to the red warrior when a familiar glowing figure flew into the room and soured my mood.

"Anything interesting? Anything fun?" Li asked energetically.

"No," I snapped. "All business; as I wish you were."

Mayu placed one hand on my shoulder and gave it a pat. "I'll leave you to your... friend."

Li dive-bombed her hand and then flew angrily about her face. "I didn't say you could touch my Harpy-boy! Get away, you ugly wench!"

Mayu looked startled for a moment, staring at the fuming sprite, and then she laughed hysterically. I thought I saw tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Glad to see you're having fun at my expense," I said darkly.

"Isn't she... a little small... for you?" she queried in between fits of laughter.

"Yeah, ha, ha. Funny. I thought you had to go spar Fefnir." I scowled, twisting my face into as humorless an expression as I could manage. True, perhaps it was somewhat amusing- either that, or Mayu's laughter was just contagious- but I was not about to let her know that, or Li especially, for that matter.

Mayu calmed down and gave me a knowing smile. "Crack a smile once in awhile, Sage. It won't kill you."

"It might," I grumbled sarcastically.

"I'll send flowers to the funeral," she responded dryly, walking out of the door and into the hall. I watched her go for a moment and shook my head.

"I hate her!" Li proclaimed loudly, landing on my shoulder.

"Well I don't," I muttered. "In fact, I much prefer her company to yours."

This started Li buzzing around my head like an angry hornet. "You take that back! You don't mean that!"

"I mean that from the bottom of my heart," I growled caustically.

"Why you... You're mean! You're a rotten person!" She stopped for a moment to hover in my face and then resumed her flight.

"Here's a news flash; I've _been_ that way." I waved her away with a flip of my hand- as though she were an annoying gnat. "Now, will you _leave_?"

She landed on my head. "No! That would mean you win! I said you're stuck with me, so _you're stuck_, Harpy-boy!"

"Will you _stop calling_ me that?" I would have given her an angry glare, but since she was on my head, it was a bit difficult to look at her.

"Should I call you Sage like that ugly girl?" She hung upside-down to stare at my face.

"My _name_ is _Harpuia_. And if you don't start calling me that, I'll find some pretty colorful names to call you." This time I did scowl at her, since she could see me. "And stop calling her ugly, by the way. She happens to be a friend of mine."

"Ooh, getting defensive, are we?" She slid off my helmet, somersaulted, and faced me. "Are you hiding something, _Har-pu-ia_?"

I looked at her evenly. "I hide nothing. You annoy me; I don't want to hear your voice. Now I'm going to see the outcome of this sparring match, and if you're insistent on accompanying me, you'd better keep your mouth shut."

Li perched on my head again and began muttering to herself, but I tuned her out.

I knew that I should probably go back to my office and work on paperwork, but I was curious as to the results of the sparring match. Mayu was very small, and Fefnir was, well, Fefnir. The Big Guy. A match between the two had possibilities for a very interesting outcome. I also wanted to take advantage of the fact that Mayu was actually on base for more than a few minutes. Some part of me wanted to get to know this new-found friend a bit better; although she seemed open and honest, she was still a bit of an enigma, having revealed nothing about her past or how she had gotten started fighting the demi-dragons. I wanted to know how well I could afford to trust her, and the small amount that I knew did not quite cut it.

"Stop ignoring me!" Li shrieked from her vantage point on my helmet. I had tuned her out so well that I had completely forgotten that she was talking. I wished I could have kept it that way.

I chose to continue ignoring her, and turned to enter the training center. Mayu and Fefnir were already going at it pretty good, and I sat down against the wall to watch the entertainment, draping my arm over my bent right knee.

"Slam her! Put her through a wall!" Li crowed, although I doubted her voice reached the two combatants.

Fefnir was obviously holding back in strength, although whether consciously or subconsciously I was not sure. He made up for it with technique, however, and speed that few people realized he had.

He threw a jab at Mayu, and she agilely dodged around him and attempted to throw a knife-hand at this neck. He countered by blocking the strike with a sweep of his forearm and attempting to bring a knee up into her stomach. She ducked away and rolled between his legs, coming up quickly behind him. He turned, but not before she landed a solid hook kick to his ribs.

The kick did nothing to slow him down, and he linked his elbow under her bent knee and attempted to dump her on the ground. She reached her hands back over her head and suspended herself off the floor, bent nearly double, and when Fefnir gave her legs a push, she merely flipped over and stood up, jumping immediately into a spin-kick that nearly caught Fefnir in the side of the head. He jerked his head to the side and swiped her other leg out from under her, causing her to fall. She recovered and jumped up again quickly, but was met with a palm-heel in the stomach. She stumbled back and coughed, clutching her abdomen and barely avoided the red Guardian's follow-up punch.

Fefnir tried to push his advantage and plant a low kick into her knee, but she twisted, taking the hit in the back of the leg instead. She allowed her knee to buckle and went down, continuing her momentum into a forward roll. She came up in a crouch and sweep-kicked at Fefnir's feet, intending to take him down. The blow, however, was not quite enough to sway the steady-footed Fefnir, and he leaned over, picking up her petite form and holding her over his head.

"No body-slamming, you promised!" she wailed, kicking vainly to get free.

"Oh, fine." He moved to set her down, accidentally poking a couple of fingers into her ribs and causing her to emit a strange sounding squeak. "What was _that_?" he said, looking at her quizzically after setting her on the floor.

"N-nothing..." She backed away slowly.

"You're ticklish, aren't you?" he grinned gleefully, taking a step toward her, and then another.

"No!" She yelped in an obvious lie. Fefnir reached one hand out to her, and she scurried away, attempting to hide behind me. "Sage, you can't let him get away with this- this immaturity!"

I looked at her, feeling unusually mischievous. "What immaturity?" I smirked. She looked at me pleadingly, trying to keep myself between her and Fefnir all the while.

"C'mon, you wouldn't let him harass me, would you?"

I narrowed my eyes sadistically. "Not necessarily..." I poked her in the ribs with my index finger.

"Eep!" she squeaked, cutting herself off and turning red. She glared at me, betrayal written across her face.

I decided that tormenting my rather enigmatic ally was surprisingly fun, and opted to continue. I poked her again, and again she emitted an awkward noise.

"You sure make some strange sounds," I commented, one eyebrow raised.

"You-you-" Mayu stuttered, as though looking for a proper insult and not finding one. She attempted to bolt, but Fefnir caught her and held her fast.

"I dunno, Harpuia, this could be more fun than harassing Leviathan..." Pressing my advantage, I jabbed both sides of her ribs and she shrieked, unfortunately drawing Li's attention, who had formerly been exploring some unknown corner of the room. She came down swiftly and flew into my face, pounding at me with fists the size of pin-heads.

"You're awful! You're such a shameless flirt!" She cried, enraged. "I swear you hit on every girl you see, Harpy-boy!"

"Harpuia?" Fefnir asked incredulously, and then laughed loudly. "That's a good one! Man, I think yer elf-friend there is a little nuts."

"You stay out of this you- you big red... ogre!" Li began flying around his head instead of mine.

Mayu used the temporary distraction to try to tickle me back, worming her way out of Fefnir's grasp. In truth, it was affecting me every bit as badly as it was her, but I was much better at controlling my facial expressions- and the sounds I produced.

I looked at her nonchalantly. "Doesn't work on me." I continued to poke her sides, hoping it would discourage her from pursuing any further reaction from me. Unfortunately, it did not. She managed to hit an especially sensitive spot just below my ribcage, and I made a sound somewhere between a grunt and a cat's growl.

"Thought you weren't ticklish?" she smiled slyly. Fefnir let go of her altogether and she came after me. "Let's see how you like it..."

Fefnir chuckled. "Never knew you're ticklish, 'Master' Harpuia. Thought you were too tough for that."

I avoided Mayu's advance and ducked out the door, Li close behind. "Ooh, you don't deserve to have someone like me around," Li grumbled.

"No, I'm not quite sure what I ever did to deserve that ," I mumbled sarcastically.

"Sage, wait!" It was Mayu. "You still haven't told me what happened with that large group of demi-dragons you encountered."

"Obviously, I survived," I answered absently.

"Well, duh," Mayu retorted, far from satisfied.

I rubbed my temples. "Why don't we discuss it back in my office, if you really want to know."

"We're not discussing anything!" Li hollered, dive-bombing Mayu's head. "Just leave, you filthy little miscreant!"

Mayu caught the elf between two fingers before the tiny creature made impact with her skull. "Okay, _now_ I'm starting to get a little miffed. You really need to stop that."

Li easily shot free of Mayu's grasp and flitted back to me to land on my head. The sprite looked at the reploid with a scowl and said simply. "I hate you. Go away."

Mayu glanced at Li. "Well, that was profound. At least you're honest.

I caught a slight reflection in the wall to see the cyber-elf leaning casually against one of the fins on my helmet.

"My helmet is not a lounge you know," I growled, but she ignored me.

Before we could enter my office, one of my soldiers trotted up to me. "Sir," he said, "I was told to inform you that the reconstruction of Aztec Falcon is complete. You may see him now if you wish." He turned and left quickly the way he had come. I turned to Mayu.

"I'm sorry... you're going to have to excuse me for awhile."

"That's alright," she nodded. "Is it okay if I return to the training center? I left rather suddenly, and Fefnir and I were having some... interesting conversations."

"That's fine," I nodded back. _Her and Fefnir seem to get along famously. I hope that doesn't mean disaster for the maintenance staff_. She left for the training center, and I continued past my office to the reconstruction lab.

I made my way hurriedly, eager to speak to Falcon again. Other than Fefnir, Mayu, and Leviathan- if I could call her a friend rather than something akin to a nagging sister- Aztec Falcon was truly the only friend I had. I had trained him personally, especially in aerial combat, and when I had initially heard that he had been destroyed by Zero, I had allowed my emotions to overcome me and fought my foe carelessly. I was lucky to escape our first battle with my life; I had been so enraged at the legendary reploid that I had not thought about the consequences of my actions. My second battle with Zero had gone little better, but somehow I was more satisfied with the outcome. Perhaps it was because I had been thinking more clearly. The red reploid remained an enigma to me, but given the chance I would fight him again, although I knew it could cost me my life. _He's the single largest threat the Resistance holds against us. If they ever prevailed... I'm not sure what would happen. It's fortunate that he left the Resistance, but the radar and the scouting teams have picked up signs that he's still out there- and he hasn't stopped fighting us._

I decided to give my thoughts a rest as I entered the lab. I had never liked the reconstruction laboratory; the sight of spare, skeletal reploid parts and jars of still-liquid synthetic flesh, along with the smell of artificial blood always made me feel uneasy. _No_ _one, reploid or human, cares to be reminded of what their insides look like when they're out._ Despite my slight discomfort, I had long ago become accustomed to it after seeing so many battlefields. That did not mean, however, that I enjoyed it in the least.

Aztec Falcon was standing in the far corner of the room, awaiting my arrival. "Master Harpuia," he said in greeting, in his usual dead-pan voice. With a face which was, like Magnion's, incapable of showing expression, and a manor of speaking which displayed no emotion, it was easy to think that Falcon was as cold and dead as a Pantheon, but after knowing him for as long as I had, I could read the subtle changes in his voice and his body language. He was glad to see me.

"You know there's no need for formalities with me," I chided. "To you, I'm just 'Harpuia,' or even 'Sage,' if you so desire."

Although he could not smile, I knew he was inwardly. Small things, such as the way he stood with one leg minisculey in front of the other, or the way he tilted his head slightly to one side displayed his mood to me. It seemed to me that all of the bird-type models shared this peculiar trait, but I had never cared to get to know Magnion any better.

"Very well, Harpuia. I trust you are well?"

I nodded. "For the most part. I've had a few skirmishes here and there, but nothing that a few days in maintenance couldn't handle." I grinned. "You're most certainly looking better than the last time I saw you."

He shifted, leveling his head and bringing his arm up slightly- his equivalent of making a face. "I most certainly feel it, as well."

I chuckled. "Yes, I supposed you would. I hate to do this to you so soon, but how long until you will be able to perform normal duties again?"

"Do not worry about it, Harpuia. That is my job." He tilted his head to the side again, a friendly gesture to those who knew it. "The laboratory's employees wish to keep me here for the remainder of the day and run some tests to be certain that I am functioning properly. Now please, tell me, what has happened while I was absent?"

I sighed. "Well, I can tell you right now that this will be a long story."

He nodded. "I am listening."

When I left the reconstruction lab, my throat felt raw from talking. there was so much that I had had to fill my comrade in on; everything from the deaths of the generals and many other soldiers to Phantom's destruction and Master X's demise at the hands of Zero, along with Zero's unknown whereabouts and the relocation of the Resistance base. He was a bit surprised to note that I was in charge now. After that was my explanation of the demi-dragon activity, the rising of Elpizo as the new commander of the Resistance, and the temporary base of unknown origin that Fefnir had discovered in the north-west forest. And of course, Mayu and her contributions of information.

After all of that, everything seemed to loop around in my head at once. I was grateful that Li had disappeared somewhere, and hoped that she would remain missing indefinitely. _And I've still got to brief Mayu on that last encounter we had with the demi-dragons, unless Fefnir took the liberty already._ I found myself hoping that was the case, having done enough explaining for one day already. _It would be nice if I could just have a normal conversation with her or Fefnir without discussing tactics or threats or politics..._ I was so sick of this. My life centered around all of the things that I was either trying to end or never wanted anything to do with in the first place.

If I was hoping for peace when I arrived at the training center, I was sadly disappointed. Leviathan and Mayu seemed to be having some sort of heated argument while Fefnir stood by with his arms crossed looking rather vexed. Li buzzed around the scene excitedly. _At least I know where she disappeared to._

"It's _your_ fault we lost so many soldiers in that last battle!" Leviathan was screeching, red in the face.

"_My_ fault?! It would have happened anyway! At least I tried to do something about it!"

"And you did a really poor job of it, too! If it were my decision and not Harpuia's, I'd say just go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under!"

"Yes, well, there's a reason Harpuia's in charge and you're not."

"Oh, glad to see you're so chummy with the pretty boy. Gonna hide behind him every time you make a mistake?"

The argument went on, and I approached Fefnir, now understanding the reason for his dark expression. This could put _anyone_ in a sour disposition. "What's all this about?"

Fefnir snorted. "I dunno. Ask Fairy; Mayu and I were just hangin' out chattin' and beatin' the crap outta some drones an' stuff, and she just came in ready to pick a fight. They've been over every possible subject at least three times. It's not even _about_ anything, for Pete's sake; they're just arguin' for the sake of doin' it." Fefnir eyed to two women forlornly. "I was havin' fun before she came in, too..."

I groaned. This was just what I needed; on top of everything else, Mayu and Leviathan apparently hated each other. I idly wondered if they would duke it out if I waited long enough. _However long "long enough" is, I'd better do something about this before then._ I glanced at Fefnir. "Maybe we all need something to do besides paperwork. Otherwise, _this_ happens. I gestured to the girls to illustrate my point.

"I could start training Arcan," Fefnir said hopefully.

_What could it hurt? I certainly don't feel like arguing about it_. "Fine."

Fefnir, who had appeared as though he were preparing for a verbal battle, looked surprised. "R-really? No joke?"

"I don't joke," I said grouchily _At least not out loud._ "Now, if you don't mind, I need to pull these rabid women away from each other's throats before the claws come out." I turned to the two in question. "Mayu, come on." They both looked up. "I still need to brief you on what's happened."

"But Fefnir already did," she shrugged.

"Well, aren't we privileged," Leviathan scoffed, but I held up my hand to forestall any further comment.

"Either way, you're coming with me. You two need to get away from each other."

Mayu shrugged and followed me. Leviathan glared at us. "Fine, just run and hide, little girl! You two- you two love birds!"

I spared a glance at Leviathan, mouthing an incredulous "What?" but she was obviously beyond reason_. Something's got her livid, and it's a good bet that something has to do with Mayu._ I looked at Fefnir, but he only shook his head. _Please don't tell me she's jealous of the attention Mayu gets from me... that's just stupid._

As soon as we had left the room, I could hear Fefnir and Leviathan start going at it, and I cringed inwardly. _She's bound and determined to argue with_ somebody. _Being stuck in my office for paperwork suddenly doesn't seem so bad._

Once we were well away, I gave Mayu a stern glare. "Do you really think that was appropriate behavior for a military base?"

"Tell that to your little girlfriend," she said snidely, rolling her eyes.

I stepped in front of her and stopped short, causing her to stop with me. "Listen to me," I snapped. "I have no need for your sarcasm or your disruptive behavior." I narrowed my eyes. "Stop acting like a child and start treating me with some respect, or I'll reduce your privileges to that of a maintenance drone while you're here."

Mayu looked slightly hurt, but shrugged it off, masking her face again with a lopsided smile. I hated reprimanding a friend this way, but being a military leader, I had to treat everyone with the same amount of strict discipline. I was fortunate that Mayu seemed to realize this and did not hold it against me.

"I'm sorry," she said in a quiet voice, making me wonder if it had gotten to her this time. "I guess it's in my nature to automatically get defensive when someone picks a fight. I was mad, too, because Fefnir and I were getting along pretty good and she had to go and spoil our fun." Her shoulders slumped. "I don't have fun much anymore."

I nodded. "I know the feeling. And being defensive is understandable, given the situation, although there are quieter ways to do it. I am going to speak to Leviathan about this," and here I punctuated my sentence with a sigh- "If I ever feel like facing the wrath of the sea-dragon."

Mayu let out an abrupt laugh. "That bad, huh?"

I looked at her from the corner of my eye. "You have no idea."

We entered my quarters, which doubled as my office, and I sat down at my desk with a loud exhaled breath. Phasing off my helmet, I allowed my unbound hair to fall over my shoulders as I rested my head briefly against my arm. Mayu seated herself in a chair which was placed before my desk and slumped against the back, looking rather relaxed.

"Letting your guard down, 'Master Harpuia?'" Now I could tell that she was using the title only to tease me rather than to make any move toward formality. I supposed it did not matter; it was nice to be on a first name basis with _somebody._

"I'm tired," I mumbled in answer. "I'm only grateful that you, at least, presently aren't attempting to spar or argue with me. I'm really not in the mood for either one." I glanced around suspiciously. "Where's Li?"

"I think she stayed to watch Fefnir and Leviathan's little spat. She seems to think of life as a reality TV show."

I nodded. "Well, good riddance. At least I'll have some peace while she's gone."

Mayu smiled and shook her head. "Glad to see our opinions of the little bugger are the same. Anyway, why did you want me in your office? Keeping me out of trouble?"

I shrugged. "Partially. Frankly, I'm not sure what else to do with you at the moment, especially if you can't seem to get along with the other Guardians."

"Hey, I get along with Fefnir just fine," she protested, and I had to agree. "It's just Leviathan who has a chip on her shoulder."

"Either way, you weren't exactly helping matters," I pointed out.

"No, I suppose not," she agreed easily. "I'll just have to hang out with Fefnir some other time."

I raised an eyebrow. "This is a military base, not a lounge."

"We'll train," she said simply. "Why? Is 'hanging out' too loose a term?"

I sighed. "Maybe I'm just a little on edge lately. Frankly, I envy you."

She looked surprised. "Envy me? Whatever for?"

I gave her a half-hearted, thin-lipped smile. "You and your leisure time. Despite the work you're doing for Neo-Arcadia, somehow you still manage to have fun. All I have time for... is this." I waved a hand over my paper-covered desk.

"You have time for whatever you deem most important," she advised. "If there's something you want to do, just do it." She stopped herself with a grin. "Of course, that's probably why I'm a grade-A procrastinator."

I laughed quietly. "Maybe I should procrastinate once in awhile. I honestly have no idea what it feels like to just do what I want." _Why am I opening up like this? I never talk to people, other than Fefnir, and the subject matter is usually... less subtle than this._

Mayu interrupted my thoughts. "So, you're telling me that the hard-nosed General Harpuia wishes he could have fun?"

I caught a flash of teasing in her eyes, but it did not seem malicious, so I opted not to get defensive.

"'Fun' may be putting it strongly; I just wish I could take a break, however small." I unconsciously rubbed my fist up and down on the side of my face.

She smirked. "In that case, doesn't this qualify? You're not working."

I smiled and finally chuckled. "I guess you're right. How sad is it that my idea of taking a break is sitting here talking about taking a break?"

Mayu laughed outright at that. "Did anyone ever tell you you're really funny when you just say what you're thinking?"

I looked at her with a small amount of surprise on my face. "Me? Funny?"

"You don't take offense to that, do you?" She asked, half joking, half serious.

I shook my head and finally laughed out loud- a sound strange to my own ears. "No, I supposed I don't."

"Good, 'cause it wasn't meant to insult." She rested her hands on her knees. "So, this is really your idea of a break?"

"About as much of one as I ever get," I shrugged. "I supposed I'm satisfied with that."

"Why don't you play a game?" she wondered, pulling off her helmet and running a hand through her hair, which looked a bit tangled.

"A... game?" The concept was foreign to me. The only thing that I ever did that could be considered game or sport was spar Fefnir, and that was not very often. _I suppose it_ is _kind of fun, though._

"You know, a _game_?" she continued, since my response had not been much of an answer. "Like a game of cards, or -heaven forbid- a video game?"

I shook my head. "I've never played a game. I just don't have time."

"Make time," she ordered. "You're playing a game."

"Are you telling me what to do?"

She looked me straight in the eye- something that few people ever did. "Yes."

"You have some nerve, " I muttered. "I may consider that a good thing- if it didn't seem to be constantly directed toward me."

"Oh, come on," she protested. "Am I really that bad?"

I pretended to think for a moment. "I... am going to utilize my right to remain silent."

She snorted. "See? That would have been funny- if it wasn't an insult."

I grinned. "I thought it was anyway." I ignored her answering glare. "Y'know, you're not very good at pretending to be mad."

Her scowling visage broke into a broad smile. "No... it's hard to keep a straight face- especially when I'm looking at the likes of you."

I raised an eyebrow. "That may be the first time that someone under me has dared insult me."

"Don't worry. It won't be the last," she answered smugly. "Anyway, I said I was going to make you play a game; you're not sneaking out of it that easily."

"I was hoping you forgot." I began shuffling some papers around on my desk. "There are no games here, anyway."

"No even a pack of playing cards?" she wondered.

"The most interesting thing there is to find in here is a paperweight that somehow managed to get a paper-clip embedded in it." _Just how_ did _that happen, anyway?_

"That sounds interesting enough to me," she commented. "What kind of paperweight? Can I see?"

"I don't remember, and I have no idea where it is." I re-stacked another pile of documents. "You're quite easily amused, aren't you?"

"Sometimes," she shrugged. "I'm going to find Fefnir and see if he has a pack of playing cards."

This got my attention. "I think you'd better stay here."

"Oh, give me a break. I'm not gonna start another fight." She got up and headed for the door.

"No, maybe not, but if Leviathan is in as poor a disposition as you seem to think, then she might." I moved to get up. "I'm ordering you to stay here; I don't want any blood loss between you two."

She scowled, sat down, and crossed her arms. "Yes, Mother."

I sighed. "Can't you ever keep your thoughts to yourself?"

"I suppose I could... but where would be the fun in that? It keeps you on your toes." She rocked the chair backwards on two legs.

"If you fall, I'm going to laugh," I said dryly.

"That would be a rarity," she answered. "Anyway, how are we supposed to play cards if you won't let me go get some?"

"We're not." I looked around my desk. "Here's that paperweight, by the way." I tossed it to her.

"Hey, that - that _is_ weird. How the heck?"

"You'd be amazed what goes on in the bottom of a desk drawer," I shrugged. She laughed silently.

"Okay... so... Sage, the cards?" she asked, tossing the paperweight back to me.

"You're not going to drop it, are you?" I grumbled, pretending to be irritated.

"Nope."

I let my shoulders slump. "All right; you win," I sighed in resignation. "But you're staying here. _I'll_ ask Fefnir if he has any cards."

I left the office to her playful grumbling and marched myself back down to the training center, not entirely sure of what kind of scene I may find there; the thought of Leviathan imbedded in the wall entered my mind. Thankfully, she was no longer present, and only the large, scarlet warrior remained, staring off into space with baleful eyes.

"Fefnir," I said, attempting to get his attention.

"Huh?" He snapped out of his daze and looked over at me. "Oh, good. At least you're not _her_."

There was no doubt in my mind as to who "Her" was. "I'm sure she'll forget what set her off soon enough."

"Oh, I know what set her off; the question is why? Mayu didn't do anything deserving of that sort of welcome from ol' Bubble-head." He snorted and lurched away from the wall where he had been leaning. "So, I s'pose Mayu's gone, then?"

I shook my head. "No," and I chuckled. "Actually, she's... forcing me to play cards with her."

"You? Cards?" Fefnir grinned toothily. "'Bout time you did something fun. Y'need a pack of playing cards, then?"

"Yeah..." I glanced around. "Not that I really care, but where's Li?"

"Oh, that little elf-thing. She followed Leviathan, tellin' her to stay away from you, or somethin' like that. I've decided that bug just doesn't like other females." He grinned. "And she's claimed you as her own."

"Wonderful," I said darkly.

"Hey, look at it this way; you get to hang out with a cute naked chick."

I gave him a disdainful glance. "You do realize that she's two inches tall."

"Well, still," he shrugged, then he caught my glare and turned toward the door. "Oh, yeah, the cards..."

I followed him to his quarters, and waited in the doorway while he hunted through his belongings. The floor was strewn with weight-training equipment and a few random, scattered articles of clothing. Other than the relative disorder, it was a tad impersonal, devoid of most leisure items such as books or games, or even pictures. We did not have time to put much of ourselves into our rooms, despite some twenty or so odd years living there. Still, we all had our own quirks, I living wholly out of my cluttered desk, Fefnir apparently from his bedroom floor, and Leviathan from her bed- which I was never certain how she slept in, since it seemed that it provided storage for all of her worldly possessions. Phantom's room had been the only one with a personal touch to it, in the form of a meticulously trimmed Bonsai tree. Unfortunately, no one else seemed to have much of a green thumb, and it died not long after he had.

"Found 'em," Fefnir informed me, tossing the pack in my general direction. I was not paying attention, and it hit me between the eyes, although I grabbed it out of the air before it hit the floor.

"Ow," I muttered, rubbing my forehead.

"You were supposed to catch it _before_ it hit you," Fefnir pointed out needlessly.

"Thanks for the warning... What is _this_?" I asked incredulously, staring at the box. A heavily muscled man in boots and a speedo stared back.

"That would be a pro-wrestler. Why?"

I shook my head. "Never mind. Thanks." I walked purposefully back to my office, cards in tow.

"There you are, Harpy-boy!" I cringed. Just the voice I had _not_ wanted to hear. I continued as though I had not, a pitifully poor defense. She plopped herself on top of my head- which was still un-helmeted, I realized. "You need to put your helmet back on, Harpy-boy. Your hair's too slippery- whoa!"

_Hmm... does that mean if I leave it off, she possibly_ won't _sit up there?_ I shook my head a bit, and a colorful whirl of light slipped down and dropped a few feet before regaining her flight to hover next to me and thankfully not in front of my face.

"Is the ugly wench gone yet?" she wondered haughtily. "She better be; her and that horrible fish-lady have to stay away from you."

I was about to protest to her insulting of Mayu, but my curiosity opened my mouth first. "Fish-lady?"

"The nasty blue girl!" she proclaimed, bobbing up and down.

_Oh. Leviathan. Fish-lady. I'm sure she'll love that._ Out loud, I said, "I suggest that you stop insulting both of them, since those are my friends and coworkers you're talking about. I won't tolerate it."

"You 'won't tolerate it?'" She giggled, a sound like sleet on glass. "What are you going to do about it? You can't make me do anything!"

"I'll seal you in an energy crate again," I growled. This was _really_ getting old.

"Like you'll ever get me near one," she shot back defiantly. I opened my office door.

"We have an unwelcome guest," I informed upon my entrance, startling Mayu who appeared to have been either zoning out or dozing. She looked up and saw me- and the tiny, glowing individual who seemed to be attached to me by an invisible cord.

"You're still here?!" Li shrieked in dismay. She turned to me, eyes flashing indignantly. "I told you she'd better be gone!"

"Hey, you don't like it, leave," I fired back, trying to hide all traces of hopefulness in my voice.

Li ignored me and began swooping and diving at Mayu's head like an angry hornet. To Mayu's credit, she managed to act as though nothing were going on at all.

"Did you find any cards?" She had pulled the chair up close to the desk in preparation for the game.

"Yeah." I plopped the little box down in front of myself and slid it across the surface to her.

She stared at it for a moment. "...Wrestling?"

I shrugged. "Fefnir's. Didn't ask."

Li rammed into Mayu's forehead, whether on purpose or a misjudgment of her flight, I did not know.

"Ah!" Mayu yelped, rubbing the sore spot. Li tumbled to the desktop in a daze and sat there for a moment. We both stared at her.

"What?" Li grumbled, standing unsteadily and then taking flight again. Mayu gave me a wary look, expressing her very reasonable distrust of the cyber-elf. She removed the cards from their box and began shuffling them while watching Li cautiously.

Li, however, was apparently in no state to attack again- indeed, she must have hurt herself a great deal more than she had my dark-haired friend, for she proceeded to fly directly into a wall and then fell to the floor to remain there for an indefinite period of time.

"I didn't know cyber-elves get dizzy," Mayu commented, dealing the cards.

"Neither did I." I glanced at the glowing figure on the floor. The light shifted slowly and endlessly between orange and violet, although to colors were not as bright as usual. "Apparently, they can sleep, too. Or this one can, anyway. She seems a bit... unorthodox for a cyber-elf."

"Are all elves that annoying?" She finished dealing, five cards each, and examined her hand.

Leviathan burst through the door uninvited, stepping on Li in the process who, suddenly awake, shrieked in protest. Leviathan glanced at both the elf and Mayu with great distaste featured unmasked on her face. She looked at me, however, and I grit my teeth, wondering what was just so blasted important that she not even knock.

"Harpuia, there's a big honking spider downstairs in our weapons testing facility," she said testily.

"A... what?" I felt as confused as Mayu looked. "I know you don't like bugs, Leviathan, but..."

"No!" she exclaimed, crossing her arms indignantly. "I mean one of our big spiders; y'know, the security 'bots? And it's honking."

I scowled. "Then have someone fix it; it's not my problem."

"But... it's so... odd," the blue-clad woman mused. "I mean, I didn't think they could emit sound; they have no speakers or vocal-cords of any kind..."

"Leviathan, I don't care!" I exploded. _This is just too much. A honking spider? I have better things to do._ I glanced guiltily at the cards in my hand_. Well, I do... I'm just not doing them..._ Leviathan was still glaring at me expectantly. "Fine," I spat. "But this better be good."

I rose and gestured to Mayu to follow, but she shook her head in refusal. "I'd better get back to the Resistance before they miss me. Gotta keep up the facade, y'know." She set the cards down face-up on the table. "Two-pair, by the way. What've you got?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know how to play this." She tipped my cards down and snickered. "Nothing. Well, it's been fun. Do try to stay out of trouble while I'm gone." She was halfway out the door before she turned and grinned at me. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do..."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I said with mock severity, but she was already gone, so I did not know if she had heard me or not.

"She's so weird," Leviathan complained, loud enough that she apparently did not care if Mayu heard.

I crossed my arms and looked at her sideways with a frown. "Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

She ground her teeth together forcibly. "I don't like it when you're around her; you start forgetting to keep your thoughts to yourself."

I shrugged, my face an impassive mask. "Perhaps so, but I only state the truth." We left my office and the door closed with a whoosh of air behind us.

"See what I mean?" she huffed, then she growled, "Ooh, men..." It was my guess that she and Fefnir had had "words" prior to this, thus her present attitude toward the male gender. _They fight like a married couple... not that I know how a married couple fights_. The problem with their spats was that I invariably became the secondary target of Leviathan's wrath. _I guess I'd better appease her and see whatever she's talking about, or I'll never hear the end of it._

I could hear the culprit long before we reached the room; a low, metallic clanking sound that I supposed, by a stretch of the imagination, could be called a "honk." _Great. That's just what I want a stealth security 'bot to do; make excessive noise._ The intent of the spiders was to sit in an out-of-the-way place, such as a dark corner on the ceiling, or a small crevasse, and detect intruders. It was capable of shooting a sticky web-like solution to hold the unwelcome guest until someone could get there to investigate the situation. Having one that honked like a dying car-horn would simply not do.

I rounded the corner into the room, taking my lead in front of Leviathan at this point, and stopped to stare at the offending machine. It crawled back and forth, metallic claws clicking lightly on the concrete floor, and intermittently let out its loud croak like a drunk, staggering and belching and staggering some more. I slapped my forehead.

"Leviathan, why did you drag me down here? This isn't my concern." She glared. "It is... but it isn't," I amended. "This is why we _pay_ our employees; to fix problems like this. I have much better things to worry about"

"Like playing cards with Mayu?" she scoffed.

I clenched my teeth. "Leviathan, when was the last time you saw me take a break?"

Her face fell. "...Point taken." She paused. "But seriously, nobody can figure out what's wrong with it. What if more of this shipment starts acting up?"

"Fine. I'm not a blasted mechanic, but I'll look at it." I lifted the malfunctioning automaton from the floor and flipped it on its back, preparing to open it up and have a look. The sound it was emitting changed.

Leviathan and I both stared at the spider, startled.

"Wh- what was that?" Leviathan managed. "Did that spider just... bark?"

"It... would seem so." I stared incredulously at the mechalinoid. It barked all right; just like a dog. Now, instead of a honk, it produced a sharp, tenor, "woof." I deactivated it.

Leviathan stared over my shoulder as I opened the panel to look inside. the problem was evident; a small micro-recorder set to play back its given noise at regular intervals. It barked at me again, followed by another metallic honk. I crushed it in my fist.

"And your engineers couldn't figure this out?" I growled, dropping the remains of the micro-recorder into a nearby trash bin. I reactivated the spider and it clicked back to its proper place, immediately reverting to standby mode.

Leviathan held her hands up in defense. "Don't shoot the messenger! Someone told me I should go get you."

I turned and strode from the room. "Find him and fire him. I'll be in my office reading paperwork."

Fifteen minutes later found me in a curious position of deja vu, attempting to peruse a document while Li verbally berated me and I ignored her. _Life doesn't change much._ My straying attention fell on the deck of playing cards that had never made it back to the box. _Wonder if Mayu and I will ever really get the chance to play? Oh, well. Don't know why I care. Maybe I should play Fefnir sometime. If anyone ever bothers to tell me how."_

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" Li yelled in my face, waving her arms. "Someone's at the door, I think." As if in answer, a heavy knock alerted me that she was right.

"Come in." I set my report down.

"Y'want th' good news, or the bad news first?" Fefnir greeted, swaggering into my office. "Oh yeah, and gimme my cards back."

I shoved the cards into their box and threw it at his head- revenge for the way I had received them. He caught it easily. "The bad news, I guess."

"Well, you're getting the good news first because the bad news comes after it," he informed me, seating himself in the chair.

"Then why bother asking?" I asked dully.

He shrugged. "I dunno. Jes' felt like sayin' that." He grinned, crinkling the dark red tattoos under his eyes. "Anyway, we fired yer prankster, so that should make you happy."

I nodded. "Happy, no. Satisfied, yes. And the bad news?"

"He was scheduled for next patrol, and he was one of the jet-pack users. We're fresh outta those right now, and no one wants to got overland in the desert."

"Harpy-boy has a jet-pack," Li exclaimed brightly. "He should go!"

"I'm too busy," I muttered disdainfully. "Otherwise, I just might."

"In that case, go anyway," Fefnir advised me. "Clear your head; it'll be good for ya. And besides," and he looked sheepish- as much as he ever could. "We can't find anyone else so spur of the moment."

_Well. This day just keeps getting better,_ I thought wryly_. When will the fun ever end?_

I walked wordlessly to the elevator and rode it to the ground floor. The occupants of the guard house snapped to attention at my arrival. "At ease," I muttered tonelessly, walking up to the man in charge.

"I'm terribly sorry about this, sir." He may have been ill at ease, but he did a good job of keeping his nerves in check. "If I had had any inkling of the fact that one of my number was-"

"Don't concern yourself with it," I told the level-headed- if not dull- reploid. "It's over with now. Just give me the patrol coordinates and I'll be off." He complied quickly and efficiently, and I was away as soon as I could managed it- of course, first confirming that my fuel cells were full.

It was not long before the golden-brown wasteland of the desert flowed beneath me like a tawny, prismatic ocean. It could almost have been called beautiful- for about thirty seconds. The monotony dulled my mind quite quickly, and I began to understand why the desert patrolman had performed such a practical joke- anything to forget the boredom of his job. Even the vague rocky outcroppings which jutted from the sand were a welcome, if crude, change of scenery.

I went on like this for fifteen or twenty minutes, keeping my speed fairly slow and watching with eyes keener than a hawk's. I became so accustomed to the unchanging blend of golden sand and brown rock that when a new color flashed into my vision, I nearly gave a startled cry.

It was a red speck, insubstantial as an ant on a sidewalk; but my vision quickly picked out the details as I slowly circled and began to lower my flight; the figure was unmistakable. Here was the one who had destroyed my master, my generals, my comrade. Here was the legend who once had been sung as the great maverick hunter and close friend of X. Here was the single greatest threat to Neo-Arcadia and all she stood for. I dropped in front of him, and he glared up at me with empty, flat, cobalt-blue eyes that spoke worlds of hatred, but nothing else. _Zero._


	12. Chapter 12

A brief forward; I have started an online AU MMZ roleplay site. Anyone interested should check it out. I am posting the address in my bio. And we all know I don't own MMZ.

Chapter 12

"Harpuia." Zero spat the name viciously, like a curse. He sneered, drawing his ever-present beam saber.

I looked at him evenly. "I've been wondering when you would turn up again. Ironic that it just happened to be on my patrol."

"Lucky for me," Zero grinned, pouring venom into his voice. "Means I get to kill you this time." There was a kind of madness in his eyes, unmistakable once one noticed it was there. He himself had obviously seen better days- his armor was dirty, scratched, and cracked, with bits of mud filling the little fissures. The synthetic flesh on his face had a dry, cracked appearance, as though from over-exposure to the desert sun. His mane of straw-yellow hair hung behind him like a tattered cape, knotted and sticking out wildly. I wondered when the last time he had seen civilization was.

"Zero… you really want to fight like this?" I said icily. In truth, I was itching for a battle, and no other but Zero could prove a worthy opponent, yet this time, something was different. Zero was different. Somehow, I just felt it; he had lost sight of the cause he had been fighting for.

He came at me slowly, saber raised. "'Course I do. All you Neo-Arcadian dogs. You should all just lay down and die." He chuckled maniacally, waving his saber in a grand gesture. "None of you are any match for me."

They say there is no truer way to know a person than in battle. Were that correct, then I felt I knew Zero very well indeed, and it did not take a genius to know that this man standing before me was not the man he once was. No, he was not even the man he had been six months ago.

"What happened to you?" I said darkly. "I respected you once." I stared at my enemy, as though I could see into his soul with my gaze. _If only. Where did this madness come from? Could this really be the same Zero?_

Instead of answering me, Zero's slow, steady gait turned to a full charge and he shrieked a battle cry, leaping and coming down on me, intent on cleaving me in two. It was a sloppy move, and I dodged it easily, whirling and stabbing with my right-hand saber. He danced away and dashed at me with a sweeping horizontal chop. I leapt over it and hovered in the air with my boosters.

"You fight too sloppily," I said contemptuously. "You've lost skill since I last faced you." His face twisted in rage and he leapt up, kicking off a rock, and sailed at me. I dove beneath him and came up behind, striking upward with both blades. Somehow, he twisted in the air and avoided the blows, swinging one leg as he fell and unexpectedly kicking me in the face. I reeled and fell back to the ground, landing on one knee but recovering quickly. I rolled out of the way and leapt to my feet as he charged me saber-first.

"Ha," he grinned wickedly. "You keep fighting like that, and there'll be nothing left of you when this is done but scrap for the metal scavengers."

I swung both sabers, sending crescents of energy into his face. He ducked, although one splashed slightly over his eye, and he screamed out his rage. The skin on his face where it had struck was red and puckered, and coupled with the insane sneer he continued to hold, he seemed the very picture of madness.

"You have nothing to be so overconfident about," I growled. "I may have failed to defeat you in the past, but you are no longer the warrior you were." I leapt and dove at him, my arms out and to my sides, my sabers pointed back. He countered with a swing meant to block my attack, but I used that momentum to send him flying into the air, locking my blade under his and flinging upward. At the peak of his flight, I was there to greet him, and sent him hurtling back to the ground by smashing my elbow into his face.

He landed hard on his back, rolling away as I stabbed a saber into the ground where he had been. The impact had caused a cloud of dust to rise from the hot sands, and through this I could see Zero stand and fiddle with something on his saber. _Inserting a chip, _I realized. I knew that in some weapons, the energy output could be modified to emit something akin to an elemental attack. Ice, fire, and thunder were the names most people gave them, although that was over dramatized a bit. The "ice" chip simply reversed the polarity of the blade and caused it to cut by using extreme cold instead of extreme heat. "Fire" super-charged the heat of the blade, causing it to make smoother swipes through some material, while "thunder" electrically charged the outputted energy to short-circuit mechanical elements that it came in contact with. My blades had a mild electrical output of their own. None of these prospects sounded promising, so I leapt to the air, settling briefly on a rocky formation that jutted from the desert, and then coming down on him like a hawk on its prey.

He sidestepped my attack at the last moment and swung his saber in a move aimed for my face. I allowed myself to drop to the sand, just beneath the flying weapon. The blade barely missed my left cheek and I could feel a frigid chill in its wake, broadcasting which chip he had inserted. It concerned me little, the only real danger being the possibility of a frozen fuel tank, which would effectively ground me. _But he has to hit me for that, and in the back nonetheless. _I would never turn my back to my enemy.

I spun sharply and sent another crescent of blade energy flying at my crimson nemesis, who swatted it away with an almost careless gesture of his sword. Pressing the attack, I sprinted full on to meet him and brought a backhand swing with my right arm around to cleave him at the torso, while jabbing my left hand blade at his stomach. In a blindingly fast blur of motion, he batted away the first swing with a single handed slash, and then gripped his saber with both hands to force my stab downward, which then narrowly missed his thigh. Reversing the momentum of his attack, he arced the blade upward again in a powerful swing and I leapt back so that the frigid tip passed by my nose by mere fractions of an inch.

As Zero recovered from the upward strike, he carelessly left himself open and I cross-slashed at his midriff. He back-flipped just out of range and swung his weapon horizontally, the tip barely catching my own torso. The armor held, but I could feel a searing cold welt forming on the flesh beneath. I threw myself to the right and banked around him sharply, using my jets to make the turn quickly. I brought one leg out and swiped his left ankle out from under him while catching him In the chest with one blade, effectively dumping him onto the sand and making a noticeable gash on his armor.

He took the fall mostly on his shoulders and hands, flipping himself gracefully back to his feet almost before he made full contact with the ground. He spun into a wild attack that I parried with both swords, ending with our blades deadlocked together. I brought my knee into his gut, and he doubled over minusculey while I used the distraction to slam my fist and the butt of my saber into the back of his neck. He allowed himself to be knocked down and head-butted me in the stomach, hard enough that my breath escaped my lungs and I found myself falling backwards. I tried to bring my sabers up to defend, but he pinned my arms to the sand, creating a stalemate for the both of us. Wedging my knees beneath him, I managed to get my feet under him and kick upwards, sending him flying. Not waiting for a reaction, I leapt upwards and grabbed him by the throat and the arm, soaring some twenty-five or thirty feet before turning and driving straight for the ground.

The impact sent sand shooting out in a shockwave and created a crater in the turf. The force jarred my arms, but did more than jar Zero, I am sure. Despite this, as I backed away, he recovered himself quickly, holding his deactivated saber out to his side. I noticed an almost inaudible hum coming from the dormant device, and too late as I charged did I realize what it was. He released the charge button and the pent-up power shot out with a burst, sending little trails of frost to sizzle across the burning sands and dissipate quickly. The chill energy washed over me like a wave of ice, instantaneously creating a glistening frozen shell over any surface of my armor that it came in contact with. It crackled and shattered like glass as I kept moving . The beam itself dug deeply into my shoulder, finally slowing my forward momentum, and I yelled in pain. My inclination was to clutch my wounded limb, but instead I lashed out with my good arm and stabbed into his gut. The hit penetrated, although not as deeply as I would have liked, and Zero hissed in pain, clutching the deep laceration on his stomach. Blood seeped between his fingers in crimson rivulets.

I tried to speed away again with my boosters, but they sputtered weakly, and I realized that the unthinkable had happened; his last attack had frozen the fuel tanks. I could no longer fly. The fuel in my tanks had been of a type specifically made so that extreme heat would not ignite it and cause it to explode while on my back. The drawback was that it froze at a much higher temperature than normal. It was well below the freezing point of water, of course, but still much higher than it would have been. _I'll just have to hope it thaws quickly. I don't like being grounded._ I had never realized how much of a convenience flight was until I had lost it. _Figures, _I thought disdainfully.

I satisfied myself by banking sharply away from my foe, kicking up a shower of sand. Jets or no, I was still fast. I launched myself in a hasty leap with one saber out front, the other more conservatively at my side, since that arm was wounded. He brought his green energy blade up to block my red one and I leaned my weight into the push, attempting to drive him back. He too used one arm, the other holding the gash on his stomach closed so that it would seal up and not become worse. Left strength for strength, we struggled for a time, but I was slowly losing ground. I admitted, if only to myself, that he was stronger than I.

Instead of letting him win our little contest of muscle, I lashed out with a solid kick into his knee. It bent briefly at an unnatural angle and popped. The sound nearly made my own knee throb in pity. Zero went down on one knee, and I raised my saber to stab it into his skull. He dove into my knees and took me down hard, the saber I had been about to strike with flying out of my hand. He tried to pin me down, but I rolled out of his grasp, stretching for my lost weapon. Sand and grit worked their way into the wound on my shoulder and stung painfully.

Zero grabbed my arm, digging his fingers into the gash, and I gasped with the shock of the pain. I threw a clump of dusty sand into his eyes with my free hand and pulled away as he blinked and clawed at his murky, madness-filled eyes to remove the fine grains. Recovering my weapon, I continued my roll and stood, charging back off my forward leg to deliver a glancing blow to my scarlet opponent while he was partially blinded. Zero dodged away, but not before he suffered a wound to his left upper arm.

Zero may not have been completely sane, but he fought like a madman, never ceasing, never retreating, only attacking over and over again. I blocked the first of this new flurry and leapt over his head to avoid the second, slashing a horizontal swipe that could have bisected him at the chest had his armor not been so good. He seemed heedless of this new wound, and now ignored the bleeding stripe on his stomach as well_. Something's changed him. I don't know what it is, but battle is all he's go left now. I think he'd even attack an ally in his present state._

"What is it with you?" I panted, trying to keep a wary distance from him "You're not the Zero I remember."

He grinned disconcertingly, the expression vaguely reminiscent of something I would see on Fefnir's face, but much, _much_ more twisted. "Nothing's wrong with _me_," he laughed. "It's you people; you just refuse to _die_!" With that, he launched himself over the sand with a wild battle cry and swung his saber in a mighty arc.

Leaping high over the swing, I landed next to him and attacked again with both sabers, both of which he blocked. He lashed out with a kick to my stomach, and I flew back, hitting a nearby outcropping and breaking part of it off- with my head. I got up slowly, dizzily- too slowly. Zero was on me again, seeming to forget about his saber, and landed a solid right-hook on my jaw. I fell backwards, cradling my chin, which now had a fair quantity of blood running down it, with my hand.

"Y'see?" He laughed. "You're weak! You have no right to exist! Not while I'm the strongest!"

I spat blood onto the dusty ground. "Arrogance doesn't become you, Zero," I said slowly, my voice hard. "It's a thing that has gotten lesser reploids killed."

Zero dismissed this with a careless wave of his hand. "I have every right to be arrogant." He grinned feraly, showing his teeth. "After all… I defeated you twice before… took out your finest generals, your highest powers…" He barked an abrupt, biting laugh. "The only reason you're even in power at all is because I killed off your superiors. You should be thanking me."

I spat again and carefully tested my boosters. They seemed to work, allowing me to hover minusculey off the ground without Zero's apparent noticing. "Why this change?" I ground. "This coming from someone who spoke so self-righteously about his cause? Tell me; do you even have a cause now, Zero?"

For one instant- just an instant- I thought I saw him falter, thought I saw sanity begin to return to his eyes. And then as quickly as that, it was gone, replaced once again by this strange derangement. "My cause?" he began tonelessly. "My cause…" He began to laugh, shaking his head and causing his matted hair to swish from side to side. "The only cause I need is war; battle is all I need to survive."

"Then I pity you, Zero," I said softly, and I meant it. "I became that way... once. You're fooling yourself. War isn't all there is. Does peace no longer mean anything to you?"

His laughter grew in its intensity, and he allowed his sword to slip to his side. "Peace? There is no such thing!"

My face twisted in anger. "What about the peace you _used_ to fight for? With X? I thought you protected the humans once; you believed in it then."

"That was… someone else…" He had a faraway look in his eye, trying to remember a past time that refused to be recalled.

"Then I guess it was someone else that I once respected." I leapt from the ground, running my boosters at full, and flew at my enemy. He had allowed his guard to slip, had put his saber down at his side, and my speed was great enough that he only had it halfway to a defense position when I struck him. The right saber hit first, smashing into his helmet and cracking the gem. He flew backwards, but I did not stop there. My left saber caught him as he fell, slicing across his ribs and pitching him into the air. He came down about ten feet from the starting point and struggled to get up.

"Who's the weak one now?" I allowed myself to boast. I jogged to his fallen form, intent on being certain that he stayed fallen- which he did not. Springing up just as I approached, he caught my arm and whirled, using my own momentum to hurl me as far as his impressive strength would allow- which amounted to about one hundred feet. My face hit the sand and I slid, eating a larger quantity of the dry stuff than I would have liked. My nose was bloodied; there was grit in my eyes. My face burned from countess tiny lacerations, and I spat a muddied combination of sand and blood from my mouth. I looked up. Zero appeared not to have moved.

I leapt and ran at him at a full sprint, activating my boosters after a few seconds to gain momentum, and gradually took to the air. My speed was blinding now, and the air itself seemed to crack in a protest to my passing. I swung a crescent of energy down at my crimson foe, and it elongated due to my speed, throwing sand up into the air and knocking Zero down at the same time. I leapt back to attack again, but he pulled out a small side-arm buster and pelted me with shots. One struck my stomach and I doubled over in the air, dropping to the earth

He raced at me, saber raised, and I moved- but not quickly enough. The blade bit deeply into my shoulder and then slid down to gash my chest and ribs open as well. The freezing blade made my skin burn with cold, and my own blood sprayed out over the sand. I tried and failed to hold back a strangled cry of pain, and jabbed sharply with one blade, scoring a deep stab to his left upper leg. He fell to one knee, but his maddened face betrayed no pain. In fact, it held no emotion at all except that of rage, pure and simple.

I jumped yet again to the sky's embrace, dripping blood as I went, and soared high- too high for him to shoot me with his fairly short-range buster. _Gotta do this right… _I allowed the electric charge from my sabers to course backwards, thought my arms and into my body, growing in power and magnifying, stinging my nerves. Releasing it all at once, I created an ion charge that forked invisibly to the earth, a conduit for Mother Nature, and she used it. A bolt of brilliant lightning, gold with a violet after image, struck down at the earth, to the highest, most likely target.

The impact created a small explosion, and Zero stood at the center, the strong electrical shock rampaging through his body. He dropped his saber, but managed to stay on his feet. I landed next to him, kicking the saber away. It skittered over the glass sheet that I had created with my bolt, and I elbowed Zero in the chin, knocking him onto the hard surface. It shattered, sending prismatic little shards everywhere.

"You're nothing but a maverick, Zero," I accused, grabbing a fist full of his hair and hauling him up to look at me. "You survive off the blood of others, thriving off everyone else's pain."

The murky eyes seemed to clear a bit, and he glared defiantly at me. "Why should I listen to the likes of you? How many have you slaughtered, Harpuia? How many innocent reploids have you killed without remorse?

I glared back. "At least I didn't enjoy it!" I met his nose with a solid punch and he fell back to the sand, but flipped over and stood up, ready to fight again despite his wounds. _I would expect nothing less for a legend_. My own wounds were still sending blood trickling down my armor and reminding me of their presence every few seconds with a new pulse of pain.

I ran at Zero, aiming a slash for the neck. I could not place it, but a change had come over his face, something that I could not quite explain. _Perhaps he is returning to sanity. _He twisted and dodged, diving to recover his lost saber, and came up on one knee beside me, trying to stab me in the ribs. I brought one saber down in a parry and pushed it away, driving the other toward his already-wounded gut. He danced back nimbly, performing a strong uppercut with his sword. I leaned back out of the way and struck out with a side-kick to his face. He turned his head, and the blow glanced off the side of his cheek.

He retaliated with a jab from his blade- easy to read, but hard to block. I jumped over it, and it passed through the empty space between my thighs. I raised an eyebrow, not even wanting to think about how badly that would have hurt had he struck higher or I jumped lower. I activated my boosters to add momentum, and continued my leap over his head, landing with my back to him and bringing my elbow sharply into the small of his back. There was a resounding _crunch_ and Zero cried out in pain. _He must be returning to sanity; he wasn't acknowledging pain before._

He went down, but he struck upward with a kick that nailed my jaw and cracked my teeth together. I tumbled backwards, off-balance, and he kicked again, this time in the stomach. The air was forced from my lungs in a strangled cough, but I still managed to turn to the side to avoid a third kick, instead aiming a stab downward with my saber at his head. He tried to block but miscalculated slightly, and instead of striking his blade, I cut deeply into his right forearm. He hissed between his teeth and withdrew quickly, lashing out once more with his feet in an attempt to take out my ankles. I jumped over the sweep-kick as he came to his feet, and I flew forward with both blades out, cross-slashing once I was within range. He caught both of my sabers with his and rammed his blade up through "X" formation, separating the beams and canceling my attack.

The battle was beginning to take its toll on both of us; we were both bleeding profusely, I from shoulder to ribs, Zero on his arm, leg, and stomach. We both sported bloody noses and blood trickling from our mouths, and I imagined that I probably looked as bad as or worse than Zero. I was still breathing hard from the kick to the stomach, and he stood bent over rather strangely and favored his left knee noticeably.

"Can you give me a real reason why we're fighting, Zero?" I said in between gasps to catch my breath. "Can you even tell me what you're doing?"

"You're… my enemy." Zero shook his had slowly, as though answering an inner voice. "I will fight against Neo-Arcadia 'till the day I die."

"You're a fool, Zero," I said scornfully. "You don't even know why you're fighting us anymore"

He struggled to stand up straight and took a step toward me. "What would you know about having a reason to fight? All you ever have done is follow orders" His face twisted in a snarl, and he continued pacing in my direction. "Even now you just carry on with copy X's ideals, never even thinking about how you could change what's happening." He stopped about eight feet in front of me, saber held out before him. "Don't stand there pretending to be the good guy. All you are is a murderer."

His mind seemed more lucid now, but I did not care for what he had to say. "What's done is done," I growled. "You have no idea what kind of position I'm in; I can't just wave my hand and make this mess disappear. Nothing comes without a price; especially not peace."

"Tell that to the men who died!" He came at me again, swinging a wide horizontal arc. I blocked and struck out, but he twisted to the side and slashed upward. I blocked the attack, but the force of the hit lifted me from the ground. I hovered a couple of feet from the sand with my boosters, and he leapt at me, attempting to slash my neck while grabbing onto one of the fins on my helmet. I ducked and threw him over my head, and he landed upside-down on his shoulders, kicking up to jump back to his feet. Without a pause he dashed beneath me and grabbed my ankles, trying to pull me to the ground. I rose higher with Zero in tow and, wrenching one ankle from his grasp, kicked him in the back of the head. He did not let go, so I swung my leg, causing him to swing with it, and grabbed a fist-full of his tangled hair. He clawed at my face with his free hand and scored a solid hit to my leg with his saber, slicing deeply into the armor and grazing the skin beneath. I cried out, more in surprise than pain, and pulled harder on his ragged ponytail, forcing his head back to expose his neck to my sword. He let go of my ankle then and dropped part-way from my grasp. My attack missed, so instead I took him up higher and let go, following the drop by swooping beneath him and knocking him upwards again with swift attacks from my sabers. He attempted to fight back in mid-air, but did not have the aerial maneuverability that I did, and so failed to block each rising attack which sent him flying higher. His back, chest, and legs were now covered with lacerations and he bled from each wound until it all ran together and blended easily with his crimson armor,

We were a good fifty feet from the ground now, and I grabbed him about the waist, plunging us both head-first for the shifting sands. I reached my top speed and the air cracked in a sonic boom. Veering off at the last second, I let Zero take the full brunt of the plunge, making a small mushroom-cloud of sand. I did not even wait to see my results, but instead moved to hover over him and coursed another charge from my sabers through my body and back out again, sending the massive bolt of lightning down to strike my already-wounded foe.

I landed in the clearing dust, both blades ready, blood pouring from my ribs. Zero lay prone on the sand-turned-glass, partially sunken into it himself. I had finally done it. I had beaten him. I strode forward to deliver the finishing blow, but… _No_. _Not like this_. I looked at my enemy, and I knew that I could not give him the honorable death of a warrior, not in his present state.

"You don't… deserve it," I muttered out loud. "I want to fight you as a my equal… not a deranged psychopath."

Zero's face was turned away from me, but I could still hear him say harshly, "Can't you just be satisfied with winning?" He struggled to get up, but found himself partially embedded in the new glass. "You Neo-Arcadians... you always want more, don't you?"

"It's not what I want, " I said coldly, "It's what I expect. I know that, had I been facing you as you once were, I may not have won. But now, you've sunken below the level you were on; you're no better than a drone, marching onward only because some voice in the inner shadows of your mind tells you to." I took a step forward and crossed my arms. "Perhaps this will one day be my downfall, but I don't really think so. I can't watch a legend die this way; I truly believe that there is still a place for you yet, Zero. You simply have to find it." My mouth twisted in an ironic smile. "Coming from me, this is the last thing you'd expect, but go find the Resistance." I began sending in radio commands for a transfer. "Somewhere in the back of my mind, I keep thinking you might just save the world someday."

He finally cracked his arms free of the glass and turned to look at me. The malignance and madness were gone from his eyes, leaving a slightly bewildered impression behind. "Been there. Done that." He answered my smile with a faint one of his own. "I think the next time we meet, it may end a bit differently."

I cocked an eyebrow. "If you're implying that you'll win, we'll just have to see." If there was any response, I missed it, for the transfer finally took effect and I vanished in a flash of light.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"You're such an idiot! I should hurt you…"

"I'm already hurt," I pointed out dully.

Leviathan turned to look at me, her face serious but her eyes laughing. "Why didn't you call for reinforcements? You're making quite a habit of coming back here all banged up"

I shook my head and looked at her evenly. "Tell me, Fairy, would you have called reinforcements?"

She pulled her eyes away from mine in embarrassment. "…I understand your point. But you still should have radioed us to tell us what was going on!"

"What, and risk being relieved of my head while blathering to you?" I barked a short, sarcastic laugh. "Or perhaps Zero could have proven himself a gentleman and sat and waited patiently while I called and told everyone about our little quarrel."

"Oh, stop it," Leviathan growled. "When I want your sarcasm, I'll ask for it." She sighed, seating herself on a chair near my bed.

I moved uncomfortably under the sheet. The gash on my ribs was mostly healed, but the dull ache was still there, and my body felt like a single, large bruise. I had presently phased off a couple parts of my armor; really just my helmet and jetpack to make it easier to lie down. Now that I was comfortable and in no danger of bleeding to death, it seemed that I was fair game for Leviathan's ire.

"Anyway," she said, her voice softening just a bit, "I'm glad you're okay. I remember Zero did a pretty good number on me way back when, too." She shrugged. "And I even had the field advantage."

I had decided not to tell anyone that I had, in fact, emerged from the battle victorious. In my present state, it was easy to believe that I had lost. I could not say what, exactly, it was that caused me to remain silent. Perhaps I only wanted to give Zero this one last chance to preserve his honor. My pride would take a back seat. _Besides, it's not like it makes any real difference; we're both alive. On top of that, if I said I had beaten him Fefnir would either be very disappointed, or he wouldn't believe me, anyway. Probably the later._

"I appreciate the concern, Leviathan, but don't you have work you need to be doing?" I wondered.

"Ah, you're more important than a few piles of papers," she smiled, mussing my hair as though I were a child.

"Don't do that," I grumbled.

"Oh, touch-y," she sniffed indignantly, then let out a childish giggle. "Funny, I didn't even know you have green hair until now."

"Well, I do," I said dryly. "Do you have a problem with that?" She immaturely stuck out her tongue. "Leviathan, I think we need to talk about your behavior lately."

She gave me an innocent, "Whatever do you mean?" glance, trying to make her eyes seem even more large and watery than usual. It had no effect on me.

"What's all this enmity with Mayu?" I pressed. "Why would you pick a fight with her for no reason? All she was doing was sparring with Fefnir."

I thought her cheeks flushed slightly, and the expression on her face screamed "Deer in the headlights."

"Uhm…" she gathered her thoughts for a moment, looking everywhere but at me. "Well, I-you-he-she-"

"You're going to run out of pronouns if you keep that up," I put in sardonically.

"I just don't like her okay? I don't trust her." She stared hard at some invisible point in the air.

"Leviathan, you are the fourth Guardian of Neo-Arcadia. You should know better than to be this petty." Somehow, I attempted to look authoritative even while lying in a medical ward cot with my hair tangled around my face in an unruly fashion.

"I'm not being petty, I'm just being honest," she protested, still not looking at me.

"Picking a fight without cause other than 'You don't like her' is what I would consider petty," I pointed out. "Feel free to dislike her. No one's stopping you." I propped myself up on my elbows. "But if you cause any more scenes like that one, I'll make sure that you have kitchen duty for a week."

That caused her to finally look at me, and it was a glare that made liquid nitrogen seem warm by comparison. "You wouldn't dare."

"I _would_ dare," I countered. "And I will if you give me an excuse."

"Hey, none of this, now. The injured should rest, and the obnoxious should leave." Fefnir flashed me a toothy grin as he entered the room.

"Yeah, that means you, Fish-lady." A familiar little ball of light hovered about Fefnir's head.

"That kinda includes you, too, Li," Fefnir pointed out, but the sprite blatantly ignored him.

Leviathan glared at Fefnir. "I should have known you'd always take _his_ side." She creased her brow with a dark scowl. "Well, I no longer like the company here. I'm leaving."

"That was the general idea," Fefnir nodded. Leviathan honored him with a stony glare as she left.

"So…" he began after she was gone. "Got thrashed pretty good, huh?"

I managed an ironic grin. "You should've seen the other guy."

"Land some good hints?"

I propped myself up against the pillow. "Oh, yeah." Somehow, Fefnir was the one person that, one on one, I could allow myself to be completely casual with. By mutual, unspoken agreement, I supposed we were best friends.

"Harpy-boy got whooped on!" _Oh yeah. And then there's the cyber-elf._ Fefnir and I both spared a look at the fairy for a brief second.

"I'd like to see you do better, ya little shrimp," Fefnir mocked, poking a finger in her direction. He turned back to me. "So, seriously; how bad did you nail him?"

"Seriously…" I repeated, "Pretty good. Even got him full on with the lightning. Twice." I mentally reminded myself not to tell the rest.

"And he was still standing after that?" Fefnir blew his breath through his teeth. "Is anything ever gonna bring him down?"

"Only time will tell." I shrugged noncommittally. "Anyway, I just need to hurry up and get out of this bed. I was intending to schedule a meeting with the governor about opening a new facility for creating more pantheons. The X-drones have been in short supply, and the shipment is overdue. I think we need our own factory."

Fefnir shrugged. "I could do it for you. Believe it or not, I've caught up on my paperwork." He gave me a laughing smile. "And some of yours, too."

I sank back into the pillow. "I can't even begin to express my gratitude."

"Hey, don't just thank me," he shrugged. "Fairy's done a pretty good chunk, too."

"Really?" I wondered, surprised. "With all the goofing around she does, I wouldn't think she'd have the time."

"Eh, she's not as bad as you think." He pulled a chair nearer the bad and sat down. "She's not _always_ a bubblehead."

"Yeah, I know," I agreed. "She just tends to act childish."

"Tell me about it," Fefnir grumbled. "I still can't figured out what is up with her and Mayu." He attempted to strike a "dashing" pose. "Maybe they were fighting over me…"

I gave him a bored look. "And maybe pigs will sprout wings and fly."

"Hey, it could happen," Fefnir replied amicably, refusing to be daunted.

"Or maybe they both like Harpy-boy!" Li proclaimed, standing nimbly atop the bed post.

"I think I liked Fefnir's idea better," I decided out loud. "Oh, yeah, we got kind of off the subject, here."

"Right," Fefnir nodded. "We were talkin' 'bout meetin' with the governor. I think it's a woman. Anyway, I said I'd go for you."

I shook my head. "I don't know, Fefnir; how good do you think you are in politics?"

"Hmm…" He scratched his chin. "I think this brings us back to your winged pigs…"

"Don't worry about it," I assured my friend. "I'll be fine soon, and I can go. In fact, I really should get out of this bed now." I attempted to rise, but Fefnir forced me back with a hand to my chest.

"You're stayin' right where you are. You've deprived yourself of enough rest already." He gave me a stern look, frowning in a serious manner that hardly befitted his usually jovial personality.

"But I have duties-"

"Screw the duties," he interjected. "I'm perfectly capable of handling your so-called 'duties.' Paperwork may be monotonous, but it's far from difficult." He grinned again. "And I'm sure you know I'm just fine at bossin' people around." Despite his seeming confidence, I knew that Fefnir had always been relatively uncomfortable with leadership. He normally let me and Leviathan give the orders, although he himself was a very capable leader.

"…Whatever you say, Fefnir," I said at last. I knew that he would not back down and I did not want to argue with a friend. Fefnir was quite possibly the only person that I did _not_ argue with, and I did not intend for that to change.

"Well, I've got work to do." He plopped a familiar-looking deck of playing cards on the table next to me. "Keep yourself occupied."

I stared silently at the cards as he left, wondering if he knew that I did not know a single game.

Li landed on the box and looked at it curiously. "We could build a card house," she suggested.

"Why didn't you go with Fefnir?" I muttered disdainfully. "I thought you were going to stay with him."

"I don't remember saying that," she snapped. "When will you get it through your head that I'm here to stay?"

I thought back to my and Fefnir's conversation. "When pigs fly."

"What's a pig? Does it have wings?" Li pulled a card from the box and tried to hold it up in front of her, although it was bigger than she was. "Wow, what a … scary looking guy." She teetered back while holding the card and fell off of the table, landing on the floor below with a squeak.

"Nice," I muttered dryly._ Man, I need to get out of here._

I got my wish two hours later when the medical staff told me that I was perfectly fine and no longer needed to remain. They recommended extra rest, but I think that they knew as well as I did that I would not take their advice. My mind was numb from Li's chatter which, for the most part, lacked any manner of intelligence, and I grabbed Fefnir's cards, intending to return them to him and inform him that I was leaving for my meeting. I hoped that the secretary I had talked to the other day had been successful in scheduling the correct timeslot.

Fefnir, of course, complained that I should not be out of bed, but I shrugged it off, leaving. I also "discussed" the matter with Li for a good fifteen minutes, eventually convincing her to stay on the base. It actually was not so much convincing as it was waiting until she was distracted and sneaking off.

I went in style, taking one of the base's military-owned cars to the massive city hall. It was a towering building with gold-tinted windows covering it from top to bottom; impressive, but I and the other Guardians had been displeased with it when Copy X had seen to its construction; tall and covered with excess glass, we agreed that he may as well have painted a sign that said "target" on it. Even Phantom had quietly disagreed with the plans, but would never have shared such a thing with his master. Copy X had always seemed a bit taken with extravagance.

Eventually, we planned to tear it down and build something more defensible, but we hardly had time for such things at present, and by the time we did, the threat of attack would be gone, making rebuilding it unnecessary. _Sometimes you just can't win._ I parked the car in the reserved parking and walked to the front double-doors, consciously making my gait quick and confidant and my gaze intimidating and cold- all the while wondering how many more messes I would discover that my old "master" had left for me to clean up. _As if this war isn't a big enough mess._ I could hardly feel the same respect that I once had for Copy X. The decisions he had begun making- especially toward the end- never seemed prudent to me. Fefnir and Leviathan, I knew, felt the same.

"Sage Harpuia. I'm here for a meeting with Governor Makay."

The secretary had not been looking in my direction, and my abrupt announcement startled her into dropping whatever she had been holding- I think it was a stapler. "Y- yes sir!" She exclaimed awkwardly, obviously never having dealt with a military higher-up before. I stared at her evenly, adding to her nervousness. I was inwardly amused that she was getting herself so worked up, but a slight bit alarmed at the same time. _A human has no reason to fear me._ I smiled inwardly. _Unless, of course, she thinks her job could be at stake._

_"Ms. Makay, the general is here to see you," she said hurriedly into an intercom. The reply was short and faint enough that I could not quite hear. It did not sound overly happy._

I was pointed through another door, down the hall, and into a large, comfortably decorated but not opulent office. A middle-aged woman sat behind an expensive mahogany desk. She had closely cropped blonde hair which was developing a smattering of gray streaks through it, testament that she was too proud to dye it. Her face was lined, perhaps a small amount more than what woman her age would normally have, and she wore a severe, alert expression. Her gray eyes were deep-set, and almost as piercing as my own.

Elena Makay met me with no sings of a friendly gesture in her demeanor, and nodded curtly to a chair. I chose to remain standing, perhaps just to spite this humorless individual. I noticed a recent picture on her desk; herself bearing a joyous smile, and two young children; probably grand-children. _Not always so cold, are you?_

No hint of that happy entity was there now. Her conduct was all business, masking perhaps a touch of contempt. "I'm quite certain that you are not making a social call, General Harpuia, so let us skip the pleasantries, shall we?"

I nodded almost imperceptibly, matching her expression of cold indifference. "You are quite right, of course, Governor Makay," I acknowledged. " I do not make social calls. I am here to see about that late shipment of pantheons and to discover what has held them up."

"They were never shipped," she answered shortly, never blinking or removing her gaze from mine.

Frustration welled up inside of me, but I forced it down, keeping my face an impassive mask. "And why, pre tell, would that be?"

She frowned, creasing her lined face even more. "Because there was nothing to ship. We are in the midst of an energy crises, remember; most of out factories have shut down indefinitely."

I sighed, closing my eyes and pinching the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger. "We need those drones. The Resistance has been growing more bold, and will continue to gain power if we do not _do_ something about it."

She looked up toward the ceiling, over at the picture on her desk, and then back at me, her expression softening almost imperceptibly. "You do realize, Sage Harpuia, that there are those who do not agree with your war. Some humans even go so far as to say that the Resistance should prevail."

I narrowed my eyes in a questioning manner. "And are you one of those humans, Governor Makay?" I sat straight backed, arms crossed, awaiting her reply.

She smiled, very subtly making her face appear years younger. "I believe that nothing comes without a price, General." Her smile turned to an ever-deepening frown and she folded her hands on her lap. "Especially not peace."

This time it was my turn to smile, albeit emptily, and nod to her response. "Wise words indeed. I only do what I can to bring this war to a close. Unfortunately, to reach that goal, we must fight. In this case, the ends justify the means, I suppose."

She chuckled in the back of her throat, a sound that was anything but merry. "Yes, I suppose. And now we come back the other problem of the pantheons. You claim you need them, we need the energy. I'm afraid we seem to be at a stalemate."

I narrowed my eyes to threatening slits. "Do remember who you are speaking to. I have the power to simply order it done, you realize this."

Her gaze was equally hard when she answered. "But you would not, would you? Not if it could badly hurt the humans in a long run."

"What I need is a factory completely owned an operated by the military. The human's physical comfort can take a back seat to their physical safety."

"And what are you going to run it on?" She barked a short, curt laugh. "Willpower? I think not."

I caught myself biting my lower lip, and by the taste in my mouth, I may have actually drawn blood. "And what would you do, Ms. Makay?" I asked, my tone mildly condescending.

"Oh, I never said that I could make better decisions than you; I am merely informing you of our position. You may do or think what you will with the information."

"I know that the energy is a problem," I began darkly, "But we simply must have a facility to create these drones; we cannot afford more late or canceled orders."

"And I suppose that if I refuse, you will take matters into your own hands?" She reploid coldly.

I nodded. "If I must."

She gave a short, exasperated sigh. "Is that how all you military types think? Don't you ever stop to think about the consequences of your actions to the general public?"

I nodded once. "Of course. But the consequences of not setting up an adequate defense are much more dire."

"But where should we draw the line?" she pressed. "The energy supply has been getting lower and lower; I fear if a new factory begins producing, then it could knock out power for a large population of the city."

"Perhaps not," I said, thinking. "A cave has been recently discovered by the survey team, and there is a high possibly that we could mine energy crystals from it. We were getting some very good readings."

She looked thoughtful. "Would it be enough to run a factory?"

I shrugged very slightly. "One can only hope. But the fact remains that we need our own factory to produce the drones, or the Resistance may actually hurt us in battle…"

She placed her hands on her desk, defeated. "Do your worst, then." A wry smile passed briefly over her thin lips, and her eyes sparkled with just the faintest amount of concealed humor. "I suppose that this really _was_ only pleasantries. You know, I am certain, that you do not need to go through me to get what you want."

I frowned. "I am not a dictator."

"I know," she nodded. "But others don't seem to." The wry smile was back. "People like you and me have to fight to earn our respect; you on the battlefield, I in politics." She shrugged her frail looking-shoulders. "I would imagine that neither of us would be much good stuck in the other's shoes."

"Are you saying I'm a bad politician?" I accused.

"Of course you are," she chuckled. "You're too honest."

I allowed myself a quiet laugh at that. "Well, this has been a bit more… pleasant… than I had feared. I trust then you'll take care of the arrangements.?"

She waved her hand dismissively. "Of course. Now, I imagine that you have work to do; I know I do. A good day to you General."

I nodded politely. "And to you, Governor." I left the office, noting to myself how right she was about my having work to do. If Mayu was correct, The Resistance would be attacking- or attempting to- sometime during the earliest hours of the morning. We needed to prepare. I knew that the others had already devoted their energy to it, but I had been distracted and busy with other concerns. Now, I forced my mind to turn to battle tactics as I drove. _One thing's for sure; it's going to be a long night._

Aztec Falcon and I waited patiently on top of the air force base. Phoenix Magnion was a short distance away, also watching and biding his time until the inevitable attack would come. I glanced at Falcon, who seemed slightly anxious. I did not blame him, since we had been here since twenty-three hundred hours, and it was almost oh-three hundred now. Four hours. My come unit blinked, clicking twice, and then went dead again. _That's it; they've arrived._ The double-click was Fefnir's sign to me that the sabotage team was inside and ready to do their dirty work. I did not realize that I was biting down on my lower lip until I tasted the small drop of blood that had formed there. I clamped my jaw shut. Now, it was just a waiting game. We had agreed to maintain radio silence unless absolutely necessary. All I could do was wait with my other aerial soldiers and hope that Fefnir's team was successful. Most of the Jin'en army was still standing by, awaiting the main ground-attacking force. Fefnir himself was inside, along with Leviathan- who had insisted that she accompany him, and therefore, Cerussite was present, as well. Arcan was also part of the small squadron, and the rest of the soldiers I could not have named to save my life.

Unfortunately, that left that Rekku Army- myself included- to await the inevitable air strike. The pilots were ready to scramble to their jets, and those of us with our own means of flight stood by to combat the smaller, more agile jetpack users, although I was fairly confident that I could take down an air-craft or two.

I looked around at my men, who were all ready for flight, whether by wings, built-in boosters such as my own, or jetpacks. One rather small-looking soldier seemed to be having trouble with his pack. I sighed, mildly exasperated that the problem had not been fixed beforehand. _Fefnir's team could be fighting right now. It's more likely than not. Why aren't all of my men ready?_ I stalked over to the short reploid who had inadvertently sparked my annoyance and crossed my arms, glairing down at him in what was probably a menacing manner.

He did not seem to notice that I was there for a moment, looking down at the strap on his jetpack. He barely came up to my chest. I cleared my throat, and he looked up slowly, finally meeting my eyes- and craning his neck to do so. He gave a strange little smile that dissipated into a confused expression, which in turn changed to something in between the two that I could not quite identify.

"What seems to be the problem?" I growled, in no mood for cheerful "How do you do?"

"Uhm… He looked down at his pack again, and then back up at me. "…I think my pack's too big."

"They don't come in child's size," I snapped. "You're obviously not made for combat; what are you doing here?"

He shrugged uncertainly. "Well, really, I'm the bookish type… I- I didn't really… uhm… didn't volunteer for this." He swallowed. "I'm- I mean, not that fighting for the cause is a bad thing, I just… well, they said I was small and lightweight, so they slapped a jetpack on my back and, well, here I am."

_Is this another practical joke?_ I realized that I was gnawing viciously at my lower lip, and stopped. _One of these days, I swear I'm gonna chew it right off…_ "How long have you been in the Rekku forces? I know I never assigned you there myself."

He blinked. "Oh, about six or seven months ago. You know, when-"

"I know what happened seven months ago, " I said brusquely. I had been very quickly put in charge of Neo-Arcadia, since Phantom and Copy X were dead, and members of the specialized forces had been drafted from our other areas by the more experienced members. _Whoever drafted this guy obviously had poor judgment._ The little reploid's over-sized goggles did nothing so much as remind me of large spectacles, further reinforcing my opinion that he looked as though he belonged in research.

"What is your name?" I sighed.

"Junto, sir. I was in research before this."

_I knew it_. It seemed that whoever Junto's creator was, he had made him to be a stereotype. "All right, Junto, if you make it out of here alive, I'll see to it that you're put back in research. You don't belong here."

"Th-thanks, sir!" He smiled brightly, and I found myself struggling not to think of him as a child.

I moved on, checking for anything else amiss. _Things have gotten way too lax around here._ As if to prove my point, I heard a burst of low, very immature tittering from my right. I turn to the offending two soldiers. "That sort of behavior is for schoolgirls," I spat, vexed. "We are about to go into battle. What could possible be funny?"

One looked at the other sheepishly, and the other shook his head. "Er… nothing, sir."

"Nothing?" I prompted. When I was met with silence, I said, "What are your names?" The second one, a man with a shock of flaming red hair, answered for the both of them.

"I'm Arod; he's Hasufel, my brother." He nodded to his blonde companion.

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. 'What kind of names are those?"

Hasufel shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it came from an old book or something."

"Well," I said shortly, "you can giggle and gossip and discuss literature all you want while you perform kitchen duty after this is over." Their faces fell, and I stalked away.

I felt a light touch on my shoulder, and turned to see Falcon standing behind me.

"Friend… I know you are nervous, and so are we all. Please do not make it unnecessarily worse on the men."

I nodded in understanding, allowing some of the stiffness to fall away from my posture. Had the advice come from anyone else, I probably would have quickly grown indignant, but since it was Falcon, I forced myself to stop and consider the wisdom of his words, and in the end I had to agree.

"…I'm sorry. You're right… friend." We walked back to our original vantage point and continued watching the star-flecked night sky for the dark shapes that would mean our battle had come.

After a few moments of silence, I became aware of a low thumping and the steady pounding that meant gunfire. I glanced at Falcon and then Magnion, but we all held our silence… _I'm counting on you, Fefnir. Don't let me down._ This went on for a good fifteen minutes without pause, and I prayed that the jamming signal was enough to stop them from calling off the rest of the attack. _We have them now._ And as an afterthought, _Thank you Mayu. This time, you came through._

The distant-sounding explosions stopped for the moment and we all waited in silence once more, not sure what to expect. Every eye was trained to the sky. Oh-three hundred hours and twenty one minutes.

"This information contact," Falcon said quietly. "How reliable do you think she is? Are you sure she covered everything?"

I thought objectively about it for a moment. "I'm afraid this is only the second chance she has had to prove herself. The first time, she showed up too late with too little information." I paused and smiled wryly, although in the dark I doubted anyone could see it. "I personally would trust her with my life, since she's saved it- several times, now that I think about it."

"She's that powerful?" Falcon wondered, a bit surprised.

"Not powerful. Smart. When she knows something, she knows it well." I shrugged. "Of course, if she doesn't, she covers it up by cracking jokes about it."

"Sounds like Fefnir," Falcon said dryly.

The sound of gunshots began again, and I glanced at Falcon warily, wondering what kind of trouble Fefnir's small team had run into. We waited in the darkness for another five minutes before… _there_. I was probably the first to spot them with my keen eyes; the running lights had been removed and they were still far off on the horizon, but they were there. I elbowed Falcon and pointed.

"I don't…" He concentrated on the direction I had indicated. "I see them." His stance changed ever so slightly into one ready for battle. Magnion picked up on this, and he, too, spotted the incoming force. It spread like a wave over the Rekku army, each individual preparing for battle with this enemy of the humans. _And they still have no idea that we're here._

The men grew antsy, and I could hear the collective shuffling of feet across the rooftop. They knew that they were to wait until I gave the order to attack, but that did nothing to make the waiting any easier. The force was fast drawing near. I shot a glare over my shoulder, and the men nearest me fell quiet and still. Quickly, the idea caught on, and the night was bathed in utter silence- a silence which was soon broken by the steady thrumming of many engines.

I could begin to make out more detail now; Mayu's estimate had been off, but only by about fifty. There were more aircraft than I had hoped, but they would be turned away just as easily. I realized that my deactivated sabers were in my hands, and I wondered briefly when they had gotten there. Seeing me prepare to arm myself, the Rekku army did the same, quickly, efficiently, and silently. _At least they're trained well in_ some _areas_.

I could now discern the buzzing roar of jetpacks, and if I concentrated my vision on the approaching force, I could just make out the glow of the turbines. _Closer. We need to wait until they're closer… _They were no more than five miles away now, and closing that distance fast. Falcon and Magnion tensed, wings stretched behind them in anticipation, ready to take flight. Three miles.

Still, I waited, my feet firmly planted in place, but ready to launch myself into the air at any second. One mile. _Almost…_ I tensed, ready to give my signal. A quarter mile. _Now._ I leapt into the air, screaming a deafening battle-cry, flaring my sabers to life. The response was a roar from my army and the sound of five hundred booster turbines activating at once as I lead my charge against the enemy.

The first wave that I met was a group of laser-canon wielding reploids equipped with jet boosters. Unfortunately for them, I possessed far greater maneuverability, and the laser canons, had I allowed them to make contact with my armor, did nothing but leave little, pitted scorch marks. I slashed through the barrel of one such reploid's gun and followed up with a sweep of my second saber through his head, dividing him at the jaw. Blood spewed from the corpse, and without someone to control it, the jetpack sent the body flying into the roof of the air-force base, where it exploded in a bright flare of light.

Rather than admire my fireworks, I continued flying though the ranks, my blades held straight out at my sides to cleave any passing soldiers. Magnion flew above me, Falcon below me, and in unspoken agreement we headed for our intended target; the first of the jets.

The sharp-pointed aircraft was black as jet, and almost impossible to see from above, but from below, the stars gave enough light to the sky to reveal the dark silhouette. Once we were clear of the jetpack soldiers, my two avian companions veered to either side of me and slightly behind, creating a V-shaped battle formation. The jet opened fire on us, and we were forced to break off in three directions to avoid it, I flying up and over the top. As I did, I stabbed one fiercely growing blade in through the glass of the cockpit. It was reinforced, but my beam-saber still left a melted gash on its crystalline surface. If I managed the time to make a more sure, decisive cut, it would probably slice right through…

Magnion and Falcon came at the aircraft from both sides, claws extended; Magnion's burning, Falcon's sparking., Falcon struck first, ripping a large chunk of metal plating from the nose of the craft. Magnion assaulted the fuselage, melting into the thick, metal skin with his talons, creating a smoking gash as the obsidian fighter-jet shot past. Refusing to back down, the pilot turned the machine to face us again, continuing to fire steadily in our general direction. Fortunately, "general" was not close enough, and the shots passed by harmlessly, since accuracy from a larger artillery such as that was not adept at hitting small, agile targets. My birdlike compatriots flew rapidly after it, but I deactivated my boosters instead, allowing myself to freefall until I was in the midst of the reploid-to-reploid battles. The jetpack users from the Resistance were surprisingly maneuverable, and proved to be more difficult targets than my men had apparently given them credit to be.

Halting my descent just below one such nuisance, I extended my blade and shot upward again for a short burst, slicing cleanly though his right arm and part of the booster, causing him to veer off of his intended flight pat until he joined many of his comrades in making a small fireball upon impact with the ground. Two more Resistance soldiers came at me, and I decided to ignore them in favor of my previous target; the jet. I flew straight up, kicking my feet up to "stand" upside down on the underside of the craft, plunging my daggers into its belly as it shot past, ripping two deep furrows into the metal flesh. One of my cuts caused a minor fuel-leak, and the spraying solution streamed away through the crisp autumn air. I spotted Falcon bearing down on the jet, but apparently the pilot did to, and nose-dived- right into Magnion's waiting attack. His super-heated body bursting into vermilion flames, he flapped once and charged forward, a living fireball. Although he juked upward at the last second, his blast-furnace-like heat blazed against the fighter's metallic surface, and the ruptured fuel-tank caught fire, sending a streaming ribbon of flame spewing into the night.

Realizing that his time was short, the pilot turned the craft away- and right for the air-force base. _Blast it, this is going to cause serious structure damage… _Then another thought struck me. _Fefnir and Leviathan may still be inside; I've got to warn them, despite my order for radio silence._ Before I could punch in the frequency, however, Magnion blew past me, completely ablaze. The heat of his flames was scorching, and his speed was enough to match that of the fighter's. At full speed, he rammed straight through the aircraft like a knife through butter, melting a path before him. The fuel fully ignited, and the machine erupted in a molten fireball, an explosion of light and sound. The blackened husk dropped away, landing harmlessly on the airstrip and away from the base. I did not have a chance to congratulate Magnion on his victory, however, as two more small aircraft turned their attention toward us, intent on revenge for their comrade.

_Where are the rest of the Rekku forces?_ I wondered, growling to myself in my mind. _Something go wrong down there? We need them now…_ As if in answer, a new engine roar reached my ears, and I knew it was not one of the Resistance's because I could tell the difference in pitch. One of the two jets blew apart in a shower of sparks and flaming debris, and the other veered away suddenly to avoid its new attacker, taking a smattering of hits on the wing. I turned to see one of my own fighters rushing toward us, and I breathed a mental sign of relief. _They're okay down there, then._ I looked around at my newly-arriving air-force. _But wait… where are the rest of them?_ Indeed, there were enough to hold the Resistance back, but no more. The remains of my forces had already quit coming and now I began to wonder if there had, indeed been trouble inside my base.

_But I don't have time to wonder now. Thinking too much on the battlefield is liable to get one killed._ I caught sight of movement far below, a seething mass in the darkness, and realized that it was the Resistance's ground forces. I forced myself not to worry about it, telling myself that that part of the battle was all up to Fefnir now. I watched briefly as the Jin'en army rushed forth to meet the enemy, and I was quite sure that I could spot Fefnir- the only figure from which massive fireballs were coming.

Absently, I turned and slashed a Resistance soldier who was coming at me with a short-range beam dagger. The flashing blade split him open at the waist, and he fell, bleeding, screaming, and sparking, into the blackness. I looked up to see Falcon soaring over to me.

"Am I mistaken, Harpuia, or are we short by some of our forces?" It was subtle, but I could catch some of the mild concern in his voice.

I nodded. "I noticed, but we don't have time to wonder what happened down there."

He nodded, and I took off toward another group of battling reploids, both my own and the Resistance. I sliced through the enemies easily, and managed to catch one of my wounded men before he fell into the night's abyss. I recognized the redhead as Arod as I transferred coordinates to the base to teleport him.

"Do I still have to do kitchen duty?" he mumbled abstractedly, trying to remain conscious. He was transferred before I could bother to think of a reply.

"Arod..,. Will he be okay?" Hasufel circled uncertainly.

"Yeah, he's fine," I lied, when in truth I had no idea how badly he had been wounded. This seemed to satisfy Hasufel, however, and he flew off to exact his revenge on the Resistance.

"Master Harpuia, our forces have come up short," Magnion unnecessarily informed me, the flames around him lessoning considerably as he flew to join me.

"I know," I grunted curtly, already quite tired of being repeatedly told the same thing several times. "There's nothing I can do about that right now; we just need to fight, regardless."

Magnion gave me what may have been the equivalent of a glare; I could not be sure. "It is too bad that Master Phantom is no longer alive; the Zan'ei forces would have decimated the Resistance in one sweep."

"He had his chance," I growled before thinking about what I was saying. _I probably should have kept that to myself._

Magnion, knowing that back-talking his superior was a terribly bad idea, said nothing and then turned to flap back to the battle. _Yeah, he's angry. Good for him._ I had swallowed my own pride often enough to avoid arguing with him; it was about time he was forced to do the same.

I jetted back into the thick of battle, catching sight of the land-bound fight three-quarters of a mile below me, and wondered how Fefnir and Leviathan were fairing. A Resistance soldier tried to shoot me in the face, but I noticed the movement first and dropped just low enough for the shot to pass harmlessly over my head. I stabbed straight out after stopping my minute decent, jabbing him in the gut and ripping viciously upward, slicing everything from the waist up in half. The fuel-tank split and the heat from my sabers ignited it. Seeing the minor danger, I winged away from the resulting explosion and turned my attention to another of the ebony fighter-jets. The pilot came at the group firing madly, dangerously close to his allies. _Must be a reckless rookie,_ I decided. _Should be easy to take down._

I quickly jetted upward to avoid the fighter as it made its pass through the group. One of my soldiers was not so lucky as the craft's wing tore him in half and sent both pieces spinning and spraying blood until they were out of sight. "Resistance scum," I muttered under my breath, following the enemy fighter quickly. _The Rekku forces are going to be spending a lot of time in maintenance thanks to this._ I came up behind the jet, carefully avoiding the thrusters, and attempted to carve into the side of the turbines. The pilot apparently picked me up on the scanners and pointed his craft nose-down, avoiding my effort to sabotage his jet. Instead of plunging after him, I soared evenly with him, waiting for him to come back up. He anticipated this, knowing my approximate position, and nosed the fighter upward again, this time aiming straight for me and laying on the lasers, pelting anything in the vicinity. I could not be sure, but I thought I saw one of his own men go down due to his carelessness. I darted left and right to avoid the fired shots, talking a few minor hits to my armor. One did managed to singe into my leg, but I grit my teeth and bore the pain- a soldier can do little else.

I dodged and flipped around so that I was facing the same direction that he was as the jet passed, trying to ram me with its pointed nose. I dug my sabers into the space just in front of the cockpit, hitching a rid while conserving a minute amount of fuel in my boosters. The pressure from the air blowing back at me gradually forced the sabers through the heavily reinforced metal, cutting two ever-lengthening gashes in the obsidian surface. The furrows glowed hotly as the beams passed through and slowly made their way to the Plexiglas of the cockpit. The piloting soldier barrel-rolled to try to shake me off, and my grip slipped. Rather than get caught by the rotating wings, I let go and let the wind and my booster turbines carry me out of the way.

Hovering far enough above him that his sensors could not discern me from the other soldiers, I watched as he performed a sharp U-turn to double back and finish me off. As he flew past below me I dropped and followed, raising my speed to maximum, and sank my sabers into the craft yet again, like a predator's fangs into its victim. My target was the cockpit this time, and I used the same trick of stealing a quick ride to slowly but surely rip through the transparent surface, gouging it away in molten chunks.

The reploid inside glanced up at me fearfully and pulled out a small low-powered sidearm. _What does he expect to do with that? It's hardly more than a pellet-gun._ Regardless of the futility of the effort, he fired it repeatedly at me. For the most part, I ignored it as one shot scorched my shoulder, another my hand. I did, however, take care to insure that none hit my unarmored face. _That could cause a problem…_ Out of shots in the useless gun, he threw it at me in frustration as my blades peeled away enough of the transparent bubble for me to fly through. _Right. Shooting me with it didn't work; what could he possibly think throwing it at me is going to do?_ He attempted another barrel-roll, but I was prepared this time and had a handhold on the jagged edges I had created. Arm-muscles aching from the strain, I pulled myself inside the cramped space to wedge myself next to him.

He shrieked in a cowardly fashion and tried to cower away meekly, putting his hands up like some sort of useless shield. "Don't kill me," he whined.

I drew back a saber. "Too late." My swipe easily lopped off his head, and greasy blood sprayed against the windshield. _The moron had it coming._ I had a low tolerance for stupidity and cowardice; the unfortunate pilot had found that out the hard way.

The jet began an uncontrolled descent toward the air-force base, and I grabbed the controls and pulled it back up again. _Great. I need to dispose of this troublesome machine, but I don't want it to hit something important._ I looked at the blood-smattered radar and spied another Resistance fighter headed for me, going the opposite direction. Tweaking the course a bit, I leapt from the pilot's seat and out of the aircraft as it collided head-first with the other, sending shrapnel and fire bursting out in all directions. The two blackened husks tumbled away, but I did not have time to watch them as I was jostled and bounced around by the shockwave of the explosion. I was sent into the line of fire of another jet, this one with more powerful guns than the last- probably because it had a more seasoned, reliable pilot. _These lasers could just about take a limb off. I can't be so careless about it now._

_Aztec Falcon dove at the fighter, scraping his electrically-charged talons across the surface and sending little sparks and metal shavings shooting out. While the pilot was distracted, I extracted myself from the situation, flying next to Falcon as the jet gunned its engines away from us and into another dogfight further on. One of my own promptly blew it apart and I resisted the urge to laugh at that particular soldier's misfortune. Instead, I turned to Falcon. "Thanks for the help."_

"Only my duty to you as a soldier- and as a friend," he nodded.

I nodded in return and turned to chase after more enemy soldiers, slashing though limbs and bodies as I flew, losing count quickly of how many I wounded or killed. _This fight feels almost anti-climactic,_ I thought, hoping that I did not jinx myself with my musings. All of the soldiers were really quite similar, varying in degrees of skill and appearance, but little else. None wore armor that stood much of a chance before my beam-sabers, although I really had not killed too many. A reploid could survive with a missing arm or leg, and many who fell managed to transfer back to their base before impact. My men, too, had not taken heavy losses, but were not without their share of casualties. _This has turned out to be a fairly evenly-matched battle. A fight like this may have no clear winner or loser. As long as we drive them away from the base, we can worry about a more devastating blow to them later._

I came up behind another Resistance jetpack soldier and drew my saber over his throat in a swift, clean motion. Dropping the body, I sped to the nearest living soldier to dispatch him as well, but he moved away with surprising quickness, and I was forced to give chase. He pulled out a powerful blaster, although it was only capable of shooting one shot at a time, and fired a plasma burst at me. I easily avoided that, and he fired again, and a then a third time as soon as his gun's slow pace would allow. I dodged to my left past the second shot, and then tried to go right again to avoid the next, but it pegged me square in the side of my helmet, and my vision blurred for a moment. When it cleared, it was only to spot another blast headed straight for my unprotected face. I brought up a saber faster than thought and deflected the energy and then rocketed toward him to make sure he would not fire again- ever. I divided him from shoulder to hip and then turned away, searching for a new target while trying to take in how my forces were doing. The aircraft were still locked in combat and seemed relatively even in number. It was hard to tell with the rest of the soldiers, as they all seemed to blend together in a jumbled mass. _Well, this wasn't quite the devastating victory that I had in mind. Still, we're not losing, either. Mayu's estimate was off just enough to mean the difference between victory and stalemate, but it was an honest mistake, since I doubt that she had the opportunity to see the full army assembled before she gave us her report._

"Master Harpuia, it appears that the Resistance is retreating," Falcon informed me, pausing to hover at my side. Magnion moved to my other side and stared back at the battlefield.

"We have driven them off," the phoenix muttered, "but we did not deliver as crippling a blow as I thought you intended. We must find out why the rest of the Rekku forces did not join us."

"You have a talent for stating the obvious," I muttered, scowling slightly. "Go check on the rest of the forces; I'm going to down to the Jin'en army to see what to make of the situation."

Magnion nodded curtly and flapped away. _He's loyal enough,_ I sighed to myself, _unfortunately, loyalty to the dead doesn't get one very far, and he doesn't think much of me. Frankly, he's driving me crazy; I think I need to find something for him to do away from the base_.

"What would you have me do, master?" Falcon queried, breaking into my thoughts.

"Help Magnion," I answered. "There may be injured, and they will need to be taken to the med-center." I frowned. "We need to recover from this quickly; I won't have Neo-Arcadia be a sitting-duck."

He nodded in acknowledgement, and I allowed myself to freefall most of the way back to the ground, since my fuel tank was probably getting low. I stopped about ten feet from the ground and then deactivated my thrusters, dropping down to land heavily on my feet. The fighting here, too, had ended, and I quickly found Fefnir and Leviathan, who were having a heated discussion that I did not bother to listen to. Cerussite was standing nearby, watching the exchange impassively.

"Fefnir," I interrupted, in no mood to wait out their argument. "Give me the situation down here."

He and Leviathan both jumped just a tiny bit at my humorless voice, although they tried to hide their vague surprise. Fefnir crossed his arms and looked sour. "You probably noticed that some of the Rekku forces didn't make it; that's 'cause there was another group Mayu didn't know about sneakin' in the back of the second hanger. They'd managed to ground most of the jets before we realized what was going on and stopped them.

Leviathan sniffed. "You mean Cerussite and I stopped them. You weren't there."

Fefnir grunted an acknowledgement. "I'm speakin' general terms here, Fairy. Yeah, you did fine. Me an' my men had to stay in the other hanger so that we could protect those jets" He grinned. "Which didn't get touched, by the way."

I crossed my arms and scowled. "You mean to tell me that almost half of my aircraft were destroyed before they even left the ground?"

"Most look like they can be repaired, and the pilots are fine, still standing by." His grin faded. "C'mon, Harpuia, lighten up. We didn't lose that much, and they _did_ retreat."

I looked at him darkly. "Fefnir, since when does the Resistance have a force that size?" I shook my head. "We have a real problem here." _More than one,_ I added mentally. _We still have this mysterious third party to deal with, and I'm still in the dark; I have no idea_ _where they could be coming from. With the Resistance posing a threat as well, Neo-Arcadia could be in more trouble than we realize._ My lip was bleeding, I realized, because I was biting it so hard.


	14. Chapter 14

Yeah, I don't own anything of Capcom's, blah blah blah, we know this already... well, there is also a brief reference to a Psyduck in here, and I don't own that either, nor do I want to. By the way, for all interested, I managed to fix the links in my bio so they actually _work_ now.

Chapter 14

A week went by. It was a week longer than I would have liked. Mayu returned with her own report of the Resistance situation and I attempted to prepare my slightly ravaged Rekku army for the possibly of another battle, this time with our unknown enemy. The Jin'en forces had not faired much better; the only army left at full power was the Meikai army, and that would not be much help on land. There was a river in Pinnacle Canyon, but somehow I doubted that the enemy would reside in it. Of course, there was also the possibility of finding nothing in Pinnacle Canyon, which, in turn, meant another dead end.

"You're doing it again. What's wrong?" Mayu stared at me evenly from the other side of my desk, seated casually in the leather chair that she seemed to have claimed as her own. She flicked a trailing strand of dark brown hair over her shoulder and waited expectantly.

"What am I doing?" I wondered sourly. "And what _isn't_ wrong?"

She shrugged. "You're biting your lower lip. You always do that when you're frustrated."

"In other words, he does it a _lot._" Li buzzed from one upper corner of the room to another, paying little attention to any one thing for very long. She had calmed down slightly since she had first accompanied me back to base. I still had no luck trying to convince her to let me run tests or diagnostics, but her antics had sobered a bit, partially since she knew by now that I would most definitely ignore her if she was not reasonable.

"I suppose I _have_ been doing that a lot lately," I answered tiredly. "And Li's right; I have been frustrated a lot, too." I chuckled slightly. " I know it's getting bad when my lip starts bleeding."

Mayu made a face. "You're weird. Anyway, be glad that the Resistance is hunkered down licking their wounds for the time being. It'll give us time to reorganize a bit."

I sighed. "Thing is, we still need to investigate Pinnacle Canyon, since whatever was in the forest isn't… there anymore." _Because Fefnir blew it up._ I allowed myself a smirk and figured that Mayu knew what I was talking about.

She chuckled lightly. "I'll say. I made it out there last week to scrape through your handiwork. Fef was… pretty thorough."

I grinned, my mood lightening considerably from what it had been a few minutes before. "You saw, it huh? I'm surprised you had the time."

"Hey, the Resistance doesn't keep _that_ tight a leash on me. They'll buy almost any excuse." she leaned back, looking at me through partially lidded eyes. "They're not expecting me back for a few days; what say we investigate the canyon together?"

I frowned. "I don't know. Perhaps Fefnir and Leviathan should do that…"

Her face fell to an unpleasant expression. "So we sit here and rot, then. May as well throw cards into a hat."

"Don't be like that," I chided gently. "You don't know what we may find there; it could be dangerous, and you're the only spy in the Resistance that we have."

"I can handle myself in a fight," she scowled. "You know that by now."

I shook my head. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not as powerful as I or the other Guardians. You're a good fighter, but I don't think you have the endurance that we do."

"I know that," she snapped "But if we're investigating, then there shouldn't be any fighting; if you're so worried about losing your 'spy,' then you could just be ready to have us transed back if there's trouble." She put heavy, resentful emphasis on the word "spy," causing me to look at her curiously.

"You're the one who agreed to be our mole into the Resistance. Why so bitter about it now?"

Her frown deepened and she looked down. "Maybe I don't like being thought of as nothing but a tool of war. You could say the same thing about an X drone."

My expression softened. "I don't want to lose a friend, either. But I thought that went without saying."

She smiled slightly, still not looking up. "Maybe it did… and maybe it didn't." She finally met my eyes, a small smile still playing across her lips. "You and Fef are my friends, no two ways about it. I just wasn't sure what opinion you held about it"

I shifted uncomfortably. "I'm not really used to having friends outside the Guardians. Running a war is an ugly business, and one in which people generally don't like you very much"

She grinned. "Kinda like me in the beginning. But hey, I got over it." Her expression turned serious again. "But I'm not going to drop the subject about investigating. Rest assured I'll go without you if you won't let me go with you."

"Why are you so insistent on going? Why is it so important to you, as long as _someone_ does it?"

"Don't you get it?" she asked, almost a little sadly. "I was in this before you even _knew_ about it. I want to see it through; I want to stay involved as much as I can." She was looking at me now, and I thought I caught a hint of pleading in her eyes. "We can back out of this at any time. We'll set up the transfers ahead of time, just in case."

"Why?" I wondered, shaking my head slowly from side to side before meeting her dark-eyed gaze. "Why is it so important to you?"

"It just is," she mumbled noncommittally. "Can't explain it; it's just a matter of having been there from the start, I guess."

"I suppose I can understand," I admitted grudgingly. "But still, it seems like a gross unnecessary risk for you to go there. They could block our transfer, you know; all they would have to do is jam the radio."

"That's not too likely," she countered. "There's no reason for them to be emitting a jamming signal when they don't think there's anyone uninvited around. They would only do that in preparation for battle, and I don't think they would detect us that fast."

I leaned my elbows on my desk and stared at her with a steady gaze. She looked away after a moment and fidgeted uncomfortably.

"You have to promise that you will transfer if the situation becomes unstable. It would be a perfect waste of resources to lose you to a mission like this."

She rolled her eyes. "You're real sentimental, Y'know?"

"I know," I muttered tonelessly. "I'm a regular well of emotions."

She looked at me dourly for a moment, pretending to be angry, but the facade cracked and she turned her face away, trying to cover her snickers with one tightly clenched fist over her mouth. "You are a jerk," she laughed. "And I'm not sure why, but that's funny."

I chuckled in response. "It's a good thing that not everybody around here thinks I'm as funny as you do, or I may have a hard time giving orders."

"You're not so sarcastic around them," she pointed out.

"No," I sighed, "you bring out the worst in me."

"Yeah, but you love me anyway."

I gave her a dry look. "Uh-huh." I pushed some papers to the side of my desk, attempting to accomplish a rather poor impression of neatness. Li promptly landed on them and the whole stack tipped and fell to the floor. "Li," I sputtered angrily, "you're really starting to try my sanity…"

"What sanity?" Mayu put in dryly. I gave her an icy glare.

"You can't insult my Harpy-boy!" Li snapped, hovering above her mess. "All you are is a lousy spy anyway. No one cares what you have to say."

"Give it a rest, Li," I muttered, closing my eyes and rubbing the space between them with my thumb and forefinger. When I looked back at Mayu she was eyeing the obnoxious little cyber-elf disdainfully.

"All right, fine, we'll investigate the canyon," I conceded, wanting nothing more at the moment than to get out of my office.

"Me too!" Li chirped happily, causing me to wince.

"Uh… no." I braced myself for the argument that was sure to come.

"Whatever," Li said, crossing her arms.

_Even worse than I thought,_ I grumbled in my mind. _She's not going to argue; she's just going to do it._

Li buzzed around excitedly, her color changing rapidly back and forth between orange and plum. "A mission! We're outta here; I'm goooone!"

I groaned inwardly, while Mayu so did out loud. "I changed my mind," she complained. "I don't want to. I have little enough sanity left without that bug making things worse."

I sighed. "There's nothing to be done about it; either she goes with, or we take drastic, unrealistic measures to stop her."

"How 'bout a lousy can of Raid," she mumbled, low enough that Li could not hear her, but loud enough that I could.

I kept a straight face, although my eyes were laughing. "If only it were that easy. Well, are you coming? You've convinced me to go. If you're not going to, I'll take Aztec Falcon."

She shrugged. "Yeah, whatever, I'll go. I'll live."

"We're going!" Li sang out. "…Where are we going?"

I glanced at Mayu. "Is it too late for that can of Raid?"

The air was dry and dusty, and the exposed dirt on the ground shown a dull, infertile yellow. A few hearty plants poked through the dehydrated earth, slowly dying in the hot sun. We were at the top of the canyon looking down at the pristine, aqua river. A small amount of greenery studded the bank like spilled sequins, seeming almost out of place. I looked down the rocky, unforgiving cliff, and then back up at the stone spire in the distance that had given the canyon its name. It was a majestic, yet uninviting scene, and a harsh breeze blew across my face.

"I'll fly us down," I told Mayu, eyeing the unsteady climbing surface, which looked as though many of the rocks jutting out could give way with a touch.

Mayu shrugged. "Whatever you say. I could climb it, but you probably don't want to wait."

"I _probably_ don't want you to fall and break your neck," I interjected dryly.

"Let her climb!" Li cried eagerly, and there was no doubt in my mind as to what prompted the request.

"Remind me to order an elf containment field from the base supply warehouse when we get back," I muttered caustically. Mayu heard me and smiled.

"Well, since climbing's out, shall we?" she said, gesturing to the edge of the ravine.

I nodded and wrapped one arm about her waist, lifting her easily to hop over the drop-off. I decided to freefall most of the way, but gradually kicked in my boosters about three fourths of the way down, slowing the descent enough to set us both gently on the hard ground. Li trailed after us, flickering violet, and came to rest on my head.

"Get your hands off her, Harpy-boy! You could at least be subtle!" the cyber-elf scoffed.

"Subtle? Subtly drop her off the cliff?" I questioned expressionlessly, turning a dark gaze on the sprite.

"Sounds like fun, " Mayu grumbled sarcastically. "Why don't we try it sometime?" She glanced at Li. "If she goes first…"

I shrugged, walking away and hopefully leaving the conversation behind. "Enough. We're here for a reason, in case you forgot."

Mayu folded her arms over her breasts and trotted along to keep up, shooting an irritated glare at the flickering ball of orange and purple light that resided on my helmet. "Li," she asked, half curious, half annoyed, "what do you even _do_?"

"I can block some forms of energy," she shrugged. "Ask Harpy-boy. I saved his little green butt!"

"You did not," I growled. "It would have hurt, but I would have lived through it just fine."

"Hmph," Li sniffed indignantly. "Why do you have to be so ungrateful?"

"What about your permanent ability?" Mayu prodded, keeping pace steadily along side me.

"Permanent?" Li seemed puzzled for a moment before taking flight from my helmet and weaving frantically through the air in a complex, confusing pattern. "I'm never telling you! No one will ever use me, I swear it! I'm not just a program, I'm…"

"Whoa, chill _out_," Mayu cut in. "I have no interest in using you. I just wanted to know." She rolled her eyes and stared at the fairy-like ball of light. "I mean, I'm assuming that you're a modified nurse-type, right?"

"Nope!" Li stated proudly. "I'm a hacker! But no one will ever know what I do!"

"Do _you_ even know?" Mayu wondered blatantly, giving the elf a meaningful glare.

Li did not answer and flew back to land on my helmet, sitting straight-backed against one fin. "Not telling You don't need to know _anything._" I felt her thump lightly on the top of my head. _What is she_ doing _up there?_

"Well, I can see she's as much of a charmer as she was a week and a half ago," Mayu said blandly. "You really have a way with women, Sage."

I gave her what was meant to be an intimidating glare, but it wore quickly into an amused expression. "You know, Leviathan says that your habit of saying everything out loud is starting to rub off on me."

"Maybe it is," she grinned. "The capacity to insult people without them entirely knowing they've been insulted is a fun thing."

"I guess it depends on the intelligence level of the individual in question," I pointed out.

"Yeah, you, for instance, always know when you've been insulted." She grinned innocently. "Not that I would ever dare to insult you…"

"You're a bad liar," I muttered.

She fell silent, and we walked in an unspoken agreement that the banter should cease, since we may be getting close to- _What are we looking for,_ _anyway?_ I realized that I was not sure what to expect to find here, if anything at all. _A base? An encampment? Something like before,_ _in the forest?_ I supposed that , since we were running on guess-work alone, it was quite possible that we were jumping at shadows. _Still… can we really afford to take the chance? Neo-Arcadia is not in a good position right now,_ _and letting an enemy slip through the cracks- especially one we know so little about- could have dire consequences._

Mayu glanced over at me and gave me a tight-lipped smile, sensing my tension and seeming to understand. Thankfully, even Li had fallen silent, and we pressed forward, staying in the shadows of the fallen boulders. We were using a mild, very short-range signal jammer to cloak us from enemy radar, although if someone observant enough were to be paying attention, they may have noticed a slight irregularity on the screen. I found myself hoping that the enemy tended not to pay attention to details.

Mayu elbowed my arm silently and pointed. I followed the direction of her finger with my eyes and saw the canyon's namesake rock looming close at the top of the peak, casting a heavy shadow over the valley floor. Interesting scenery, yet I did not see what was so important about it. I shrugged, indicating my confusion.

Mayu shook her head and pointed again, moving her finger down to follow the line of a crack in the solid rock wall. The split widened near the bottom, and water rushed out, ever-eroding away the limestone. I gestured to the hole and shook my head. _You think there's something in there?_

Letting out an exasperated breath, she pulled my ear down to her mouth and muttered, "Crevasses like that sometimes lead to a larger network of water-carved caves."

"You think the base might be inside the rock?" I whispered back. It sounded possible, yet somehow improbable.

"We won't know unless we look. Do you think we can get in there without drowning ourselves?" She glanced at the opening nervously.

"We're reploids. We don't drown," I pointed out.

"It was figured of speech," she hissed.

Li suddenly flew down between us. "Whispering's lying and lying's a sin; when you get to heaven they won't let you in!"

"Shh," I commanded. "Anyway, I think I have much greater sins on my list than lying."

"Don't we all," Mayu said under her breath, low enough that I was not sure if I was meant to hear. "War seems to steal everyone's innocence."

We approached the edge of the river uneasily, since there was no real cover to conceal us. It was perhaps a bit foolish to worry about it, since cover or not, we probably would have been spotted anyway, had anyone been there to spot us. The water gushed violently from the hole in a torrent, allowing for perhaps five feet of tight passage above it. Obviously, we were going to have to get our feet wet. The rushing river stood between us and the cave, and I nudged Mayu's arm slightly to get her attention and gestured to our goal with my chin. "The current's strong. I'll fly us over."

Once on the other side, I pushed her in ahead of me, careful that she not slip while looking for purchase on the water-slicked stone.

"Stop grabbing her butt!" Li hissed venomously. I rolled my eyes.

"Grow up, Li."

She crossed her arms. "I'm already fully grown! And you're the one acting like a hormonal teenager!"

I heard Mayu's laugh echo from the cave. "Wow, Sage. Never knew you were such a perv…"

"Just go already," I ground, giving her a shove to augment the command. Unfortunately, the only available part of her to shove was her protruding backside, and this sent Li into a spastic little flight around my head.

"Pervert! Pervert!" she screamed in my face, upside-down.

"You're the one flying around naked," I pointed out dryly.

"I'm an elf! I don't have to wear clothes," she scoffed, as though she were too good to be socially acceptable. _Apparently, she thinks she is. At least, that's what her personality has seemed to demonstrate so far._

I slipped in behind Mayu, gazing into the near-blackness beyond- what I could see past her stooped form, anyway. The space was cramped, but I discovered that there was approximately a foot and a half of extra room under the water. Mayu could actually stand up straight, but I had to lean down a bit, occasionally scraping the fins on my helmet on the ceiling. I finally gave up and phased off my helmet for the time being, now able to stand at my full height- barely.

Mayu sloshed forward, fighting the strong current and placing a hand on the wall to steady herself. As we made our way deeper into the fissure, I decided that I was actually somewhat grateful for Li's flickering presence, like a scintillating violet and tangerine torch. My eyes could see clearly in even the smallest amount of light, but what little daylight seeped into the entrance was fading fast, and the darkness beyond only promised to grow ever deeper. The sound of running water echoed from deep inside the cave and I knew that we may end up swimming if the shape of the tunnel changed. I looked back over my shoulder to see how far we had come. The bright opening was little more than a spot now. Suddenly, something crashed into the side of my head, scraping harshly at the unprotected flesh. I back-peddled, growling at the low-hanging ceiling that was the cause of my problem.

_"_You alright?" Mayu called over her shoulder, looking back at me.

"You should have warned me that the ceiling dropped, since you're in front," I grumbled.

"Hey, I didn't know. Being short has its benefits," she shrugged. We continued on, I rubbing my sore head and keeping a sharp eye out for any more "surprises" courtesy of the ceiling. Li's light revealed just enough of the surrounding limestone to prevent us from running into a wall- or hitting our heads on a low ceiling. _If we're paying attention,_ I thought ruefully. The roof of the cave continued to close down on us until we both were bent over uncomfortably. Water sprayed past us, up to our knees in most places, but reaching our thighs in some. Our time traveling seemed like an eternity, marked only by the varying levels of the rock above and the water below.

Eventually, we were forced to progress on our hands and knees, and the stream splashed up into my face and drenched my hair. Belatedly, I phased my helmet on again, partially to keep my sopping hair off of my face and out of my mouth. I could only imagine what sort of problems Mayu was having with her waist-length hair. I did not notice that the water was getting deeper until it gushed up my nose, and I bumped into Mayu, who had stopped in front of me. I sneezed twice, my body's attempt to force the water back out of my nostrils, and backed up to get my face away from Mayu's back-end. Inwardly, I was glad that Li had apparently missed that, or she certainly would have reamed me out for being a "pervert."

"What is it?" I questioned softly, not wanting to make my voice echo, as she turned to the side and leaned her back against the cave wall, shivering slightly.

"Um… the tunnel seems to continue on, but it's under water," she answered uncertainly.

"So?" I shrugged. "We swim and see if we can find an outlet."

"And if we don't?" she still sounded nervous, and I looked at her curiously.

"We swim back." I sat against the wall several feet away and watched her.

"Uh… I don't really… uh… do so well underwater…" she clarified uneasily. "I really can't do that unless there's an air hole somewhere very close…"

I stared at her incredulously. "A reploid doesn't need to breath; our bodies can extract enough oxygen from water to continue functioning." I narrowed my eyes. "You're… not a reploid, are you?"

She seemed to shrink against the wall, knowing that she had been found out. She looked up at me, and then looked down again, unsure of how to answer.

"You mean that I have been putting a _human_ I danger all of this time?!" I was more than a little alarmed at this prospect, and perhaps just a hint angry at being mislead. _I never even thought to run a scan on her._

She looked away sheepishly. "You didn't put me in danger; it was my choice. I just can't sit back and make the reploids fight a war over the humans' well-being without doing something about it. It's not right."

The expression on my face was a mixture of shock, exasperation, and anger. "That's _why_ we're fighting; to protect humans! It doesn't make it any easier to do when you willingly throw yourself in danger."

She smacked the water with her fist. "Don't you get it? That's all _wrong_. You reploids are just as important. A sentient being has a soul; a life. No matter how it came into being, a gift like that should never be thrown away."

I was not sure how to answer. When I had thought she was a reploid, I would have argued against her, but now I was too surprised to hear those words coming from a human. All I could manage was a shake of my head. _I think my brain just died._ I was suddenly aware of Li poking my cheek. "Can I help you?"

She ignored me and flitted over to Mayu, doing the same to her. "Well, you seem the same to me," she proclaimed at last. I almost smiled, but not quite. _Things are so simple for some people._

"Sage…" Mayu broke into my thoughts. "Don't be angry. You of all people should understand the need to fight for a cause."

"I understand," I began slowly, "but because of your dishonesty, I could have been responsible for the death of a human. As it is, you came to harm because of me."

"No, I did not," she denied. "Everything I've done has been my choice. It was my choice to help you, it was my choice to fight the demi-dragons, it was my choice to pretend to be a reploid so that no one would tell me not to fight."

I scowled. "Well, I'm telling you now. I'm ordering you, actually; go back to your home and stay there. This is no place for a young woman."

The slap was unexpected, stinging my cheek and making my eyes widen in surprise. I recovered myself and looked at her with a cold gaze. "You would dare to strike me? The master of Neo-Arcadia?"

"I just did, didn't I?" She clenched her fists. "I don't care who you are… you can't tell me that I can't fight for my own cause!"

"Calm down and lower your voice," I growled. "We're going back to base to discuss this."

"Not until we finish this scouting mission," she insisted.

"Last time I checked, I was in charge, not you. And besides that, you already admitted that this is a dead-end for you." I crossed my arms, glaring at her in triumph.

"I said I didn't know; you'd have to check it out to see if it's safe for me."

I shook my head. "No. I'm not risking a human life."

"Is that any worse than risking a reploid life? A life's still a life." She edged away from me just a bit, and I hoped that she did not plan to dive into the water.

"This is ridiculous," I answered adamantly. "A reploid wouldn't _be_ at risk from drowning. There's no good reason for you to go in."

"I'm already here," she pointed out. "I may as well do what I can. All it would take is for you to see if it's short enough for me to swim."

_This is going nowhere,_ I grumbled to myself. _We can't just sit here and argue all day. I need to either transfer now or just check the blasted tunnel. Since we're already here, and apparently undetected, it would seem more prudent to go on with the investigation. I could always order her to stay behind if it looks too dangerous. _I cringed. _As if she'll listen. _I wordlessly crawled past her to where the roof of the tunnel seemed to disappear into the water. I glanced back at her. "I'm only doing this so I don't have to come back here a second time. Not because you asked."

"Of course," she said dryly, refusing to look at me.

"Li, if you don't mind, I need a light," I commanded, and surprisingly the glowing entity simply preceded me without complaint. I slipped into the cold water, allowing it to envelope me, and holding my breath. I did not need to, but if I breathed water, I would end up spitting it for at least ten minutes after.

The cave's sides were close enough that my hands occasionally brushed them as I swam. Li provided just enough light to keep me from crashing into a wall, but it was hard to tell which shadows were only shadows and which may lead to an opening somewhere. I explored all of these and finally found one that looked promising. Propelling myself through to poke my head above the surface, I took a few quick breaths, refilling my lungs, and pulled myself out. I sat and stared at the dark water, contemplating Mayu and what to do about her.

_That she refuses to remain idle and wishes to fight for her cause- that I respect. I respect it a lot. But I still can't justify putting her in danger- or letting her put herself in danger. I realize that she is a competent fighter, and the style that she chose to fight with does not rely on strength, so it doesn't suffer from her lack of it. However, the fact remains that if something were to happen to her- and in a war like this, it probably will- there's not much we can do. I don't want to be responsible for a human life._

"Who knew the ugly girl wasn't a reploid?" Li said, interrupting my mental monologue. "I guess I can forgive her for being ugly, since she's a human."

I looked at her strangely. "She looks perfectly normal to me. Anyway, I'm just not sure what to do with her now. She shouldn't be involved in this, but I have a feeling that alienating her from the base won't stop her from getting into trouble."

"So?" Li shrugged. "Just let her keep doing what she's doing. It's not like the Resistance is gonna know what she's doing. And if it looks like they're gonna find her, then we pull her out."

"I figured you'd want her as far away as possible," I said to the sprite incredulously. "I got the impression that you hate her… maybe from when you said, 'I hate her?'"

She did a little flip in the air and rolled her eyes. "Well, we need a spy, and she's a spy, right?"

I sighed. What Li said made a certain kind of sense, in a way, and it was sort of… scary. "I dunno," I muttered. "For now, I should just leave her there where it's safe and continue scouting by myself."

Li shrugged. "Of course, that would mean that she'd be all alone… and defenseless… and she might try to get out, or to come after you to see if you made it... and- and-" Her eyes grew round and watery. "You have to go back for her, Sage! We can't just leave her all alone and unprotected in some dark cave!"

"Wh- what?" I managed. "Li, you look… concerned. That's not like you at all."

Her color changed to orange and remained steady. "It's in my programming! I'm not s'pose to let anything happen to a human!"

"Since when did you give a mechaniloid's posterior about programming?" _A mechaniloid's posterior? Where on earth did I come up with that?_

"I only ignore the part of my programming that says I have to die… But other people aren't supposed to get hurt, either, and humans…"

_An elf with a self-preservation instinct, and a definition between life and death… Huh. A fluke in programming? Or is it there for a reason? _I looked at my tiny companion in a new light, wondering not for the first time what she did. _Most elves follow the orders of their masters without question. Is there a reason that this one doesn't?_

Li tugged on one of the fins on my helmet, trying to pull me back to the water, although I could barely feel her efforts. "Come on Harpy-boy! You know how she is; she might try something stupid if we don't hurry up!"

I sighed, and for once I knew the elf was right. Slipping back into the inky water, I discovered that the swim itself was not very far, as long as I knew where I was going._ She could make it, as long as she follows me._ I debated telling Mayu the contrary, but discarded the idea as a bad one. _I don't need to turn into a liar just to get my way. If I want her to go back to the base, all I have to do is activate the portable trans. She can tag along- until I actually find something. _I broke the surface of the water, pulling in a few grateful breaths of air.

Mayu was still sitting in the water where I had left her, and by the dim glow of Li's light it appeared that she was still stewing over our argument. Although she obviously had heard me come up out of the water, she chose not to look at me.

"You can't sit and sulk forever," I admonished. "Don't act like a child."

She glowered at me for a moment and looked away again. _How old is she, anyway?_

"Then again," I shrugged, "perhaps you _are_ just a child. What is your age?"

"Twenty," she mumbled. "Not a child. But young enough to be reckless."

"I'll say." I was standing in water up to my waist and quickly growing tired of it. "Hurry up and follow me. It's short enough even for you to swim, and I don't have all day to wait."

"Even for me to swim? What the heck's that supposed to mean? Are you insulting me because I'm a human?" She began making her way over to me.

"No, I am simply trying to illustrate how ridiculous it is that you are here." I slipped back into the water until only my head was not covered. "Be grateful. I still have a good mind to trans you back to base, even if it means I'll have to come back here again or send a scouting team." I dove back under the surface, not waiting for a reply. Li hovered in front of me, playing the guide back to the opening I had found before, and I pulled myself out of the water, hoping that Mayu would have no trouble finding her way. Li dropped back into the stream to be sure, and I watched her ever-changing light waver beneath the rippling flow.

Mayu came up sputtering for breath and began shivering uncontrollably. "Oh, gosh, that's frickin' _cold…_" She stumbled up onto the rock and wrapped her arms around her knees.

I stuck my finger in the water. "Fifty-one point oh-two-five degrees Fahrenheit," I clarified.

"Show off," she glared.

I ignored her and stood up, looking around to take in detailed account of my surroundings. The river still poured through the center of the cavern, but there was a bank that had been carved by years of flow that would allow us to travel without getting our feet wet, so to speak. Although narrow, it provided a natural path. I began walking up this trail, Mayu following and shivering.

"What are the odds that we're really going to find something here?" Mayu wanted to know.

I gave her a slightly annoyed look. "You're the one who seemed to think that there was something in here. Having second thoughts when we've already come through what was probably the worst of it is a waste."

She shrugged and her expression turned irritable. "You're the one who thought there was something here in Pinnacle Canyon in the first place. I just thought that if there was a cave network, they may utilize that since it would be pretty defensible."

"Defensible," I said thoughtfully, "But easily blocked in."

"Unless there's multiple exits," she pointed out. "These water-carved caverns can be complex as beehives."

I nodded contemplatively. "Of course, that would also imply that this cave has one or more main entrances. Moving in and out through the hole that we entered obviously wouldn't work. Evidently, this end of the network is not used for anything, since I have seen no signs of habitation. I guess whether or not we will find anything further on remains to be seen."

Mayu gave me a bored look. "I don't suppose you have anything to say that isn't obvious."

I shot a glare at her. "For a time, I had hoped you would learn some respect. I've pretty much given up on that now."

She shrugged. "Well, the Resistance certainly won't suspect someone as casual as I am of working for Neo-Arcadia, so I guess I'm just keeping up the act."

I crossed my arms. "And the Resistance tolerates you acting this way all of the time?"

"Hey, they like me there. They don't have too many girls around, so I guess even one as boring as me sparks some interest." She squinted ahead at Li, trying to make out what was further on.

"I guess the Resistance shoulders really are desperate for company in that case," I smirked.

She stared at me blankly. "Did you just say Resistance… shoulders?"

I stopped mid-stride and glanced at her from the corner of my eye. "I… did, didn't I?"

Suddenly, Li was close by my head, laughing hard enough that her shining form quivered. Her color flickered from one to the other like a manic strobe-light. "Shoulders…" she giggled, and Mayu laughed as well. "Harpy-boy got tongue-tied!"

"I really don't see why that's so funny, I grumbled, although I could feel my face heat considerably. _Okay, so maybe I can. But it certainly doesn't help the fact that they both need to take me more seriously._

"I'm- I'm sorry, Sage," Mayu chuckled, regaining some of her composure. She dropped a hand onto my shoulder. "Coming from you, I didn't quite expect it."

"Hands off, wench!" Li cried, diving at Mayu's hand. The woman removed her grip at the last moment and the now-violet elf crashed into my shoulder and bounced back.

"Calm down," I chastised the cyber-elf. "You're going to hurt yourself- if that's possible."

Li floated back up to land on my head and lean against a fin. She began mumbling something uncomplimentary about Mayu, but I did not bother to pay attention to what.

Mayu let out a heavy sigh. "Some things never change…"

"However, our surroundings just have," I realized out loud, putting a hand on Mayu's arm to stop her. "See the adjoining tunnel up ahead?"

Yeah," she answered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Of course there's a tunnel; we're in a _cave_. There's lot's of-"

"Shut _up_!" I hissed at the pixie on my helmet. "You trying to get us caught?"

"Oh, yeah right, like anyone's gonna hear me," Li sniffed indignantly, although she did lower her voice considerably.

"Anyway," I continued as though I had not been interrupted, "that path has been used recently."

Mayu squinted, but finally shook her head. "How can you tell?"

"'Cause he's a psycho!" Li chirped. "Or psychic? Or psychotic? Or psychokinetic? Hm… or is it Psyduck? Or schizophrenic…" Li continued to name off any words that began with "Ps" or "S." Mayu and I shared a bemused glance.

I pointed to a nearby wall. "See this delicate mineral formation?"

The woman examined it thoughtfully. "It's amazing."

I blew on a corner of it and that small chunk fell apart. "It takes very little to disturb it. Preserving a formation like this is next to impossible in a heavily traveled area." Now I gestured to the other tunnel. "Look at that one."

She glared at me. "I can't see that much detail from this far."

"Syncopated!" Li proclaimed with finality. We both stared at her.

"That's not even close," Mayu and I managed at the same time.

"Anyway, sorry. Move closer then."

She did and discovered that most of the calcium deposit had formed a loose, white powder on the floor. "Huh. So I guess this means we found our enemy."

"Maybe." I stepped over to the film on the floor and brushed it with my fingertip, leaving a shallow trail behind. " I don't see any footprints, though. And it looks like farther down the tunnel the formations are intact. I don't think this passageway is in use, only passed by- by the same route we're going."

"Maybe this is one of their unused exits?"

I shook my head. "No idea. Perhaps we should explore that possibility; _we_ may need a quick exit."

Mayu shivered almost imperceptibly. "I'd love to see some daylight."

"I'm really not much for enclosed spaces, either," I admitted. "I was designed to fly; this environment doesn't particularly compliment that."

In unspoken agreement, we turned down the path, trying to be careful not to leave any signs of our passing. "I think you may be right," I told her. "The air is warmer and not as stale here."

" I wouldn't know," she reminded me. "It would have to be a bigger difference than that for me to be able to tell."

"I realize that; I just thought you might like to know." We kept going in utter silence, taking care to make our footfalls as light as possible. After perhaps half an hour, I became aware of a light, dry breeze and what may have been a hint of daylight.

"Li, fly ahead and make sure there's no surprises," I ordered.

"Oh, sure, fine, boss me around, I don't care-" she complained all the way out of sight, and Mayu and I used the meager light to progress forward after her.

"All right, so if it's an exit, do we leave, or go back in?" Mayu wanted to know.

"I would say we go back," I answered. "We have no true evidence that there's enemy occupation here, and we need it if we're going to stage an attack."

We rounded the corner and were met with the bright sun shining in our faces. Li fluttered back and sat on my shoulder, silent for once. We emerged on a bluff above the canyon and across from Pinnacle Rock, rewarding us a spectacular view. "Perfect," I nodded.

"Perfect?" Mayu asked incredulously. "We're at least three-hundred feet up! How can we make a fast escape-" She cut herself off and glanced at the boosters on my back. "…Oh, yeah…"

I smiled and laughed silently. "Slipped your mind?"

Her face flushed. "Uh… yeah," she admitted.

I turned and quickly entered the cave again. "Come on, now that we're sure we can get out, we need to find out what's _inside._" We made the trek back to the juncture mildly quicker than we had the walk out, partially because it was downhill, and partially because we were more familiar with the many twists and turns and false tunnel entrances. Although Li's light was still needed, we did not have to spend quite so much time squinting at our surroundings to determine what was what. After what seemed like a small eternity, we were again at the path's split, and ready to take the unexplored direction.

"You stay behind me," I warned Mayu. Perhaps it was just my protective nature toward humans coming out now that I knew her secret, but I was suddenly very leery of any possible surprises, and I was unwilling to allow her to be at any more risk than absolutely necessary. "Don't get any crazy thoughts in your head of trying to be a hero if we get attacked," I added after a small amount of thought. _She's put herself in danger because of me before,_ I thought, recalling our battle in the city with the demi-dragons _I never even knew that a human would stand up and fight like that… perhaps they're not as helpless as I originally thought. _I glanced at my petite traveling companion; small build, short stature- definitely no warrior. _And yet she still fights. She even fought _me, Iremembered with a start._ If_ _I had… That would have been disastrous. _Idecided that I did not want to think of it any longer, it wasa disturbing enough topic. It did,however, cause a small amount of anger to wellin my gut at Mayu'sdishonesty and what it could have cost the both of us.

"What's bothering you?" the said person inquired, a curious expression on her pale-skinned features. "You have that 'look'."

"'Look?'" I wondered, but Li interrupted me before I could question any further.

"_You're_ bothering him, wench! So shut up and do something useful!" The little elf flew in a figure-eight in front of us, orange, then violet, then orange again.

_Well, she's half-right… for once._ Mayu seemingly ignored the fairy and watched me, awaiting a reply.

"What look?" I wanted to know. I had not realized that I had been making any notable facial expressions.

"You looked… perturbed… or something…" She frowned. "Is it me?"

"Yes, actually," I admitted. "You lied about yourself; what if I had killed you when we fought, not knowing? I would have had the blood of a human on my hands. I may even have been labeled a maverick."

"Two things," she began. "First, I don't recall ever actually _saying_ that I was a reploid, at least in the beginning; you just assumed." Her frown deepened and she looked over at me. "Second, and most important; would you have let me fight if you had known? Would you have even given me a chance?"

"You fought _me!"_ I exclaimed, more than a little angry about the matter. "Why, in the name of X, would you _do_ something like that? You had to know you would never stand a chance against a Guardian."

"Hey, I _beat _you, remember?" she pointed out petulantly. "So don't tell me I stood no chance."

"Only because I nearly passed out," I said acidly. "Only because you insisted on a "fair" fight after I had fallen over two-hundred feet."

"Even so, that's not too bad for a lowly human, now is it?" She folder her arms over her chest and glared.

I shook my head. "Not my point. My point is, _why?_ what does it gain for you to nearly throw your life away?"

"The same thing that it gains for every other warrior fighting for a cause," she said as though it should be obvious.

"And fighting against me was your cause?" I ground. 'When all I've done is try to protect your kind?"

"I… was wrong," she conceded softly, hanging her head. "I blamed you for the actions of your predecessor. I-" She made a noise in her throat that sounded suspiciously like a choke. "I ask your forgiveness for that."

"Many have made that mistake; it's nothing I'm not used to." I looked around the cave, still intent on finding signs of life. Mayu walked in silence for a few moments and then turned and looked at me.

"But I should have known better," she said softly. "The difference between them and me is that I'm apologizing. I don't hold anything against you."

I looked down at her. "And that's all you want? Me to accept your apology?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "And… perhaps… Your friendship."

I sighed. "You have it." I managed a small smile in spite of myself. _A human for a friend. I guess I didn't see that one coming, but I have no objections._

I noticed her glancing around the tunnel warily, and I, too, examined our soundings. Li, turning a deep shade of blue-violet, flew in and out of several little crevasses, and then out around the corner, out of sight, leaving us with only the barest glimpse of her light to see by.

"Li," Mayu called in a hoarse whisper. "Li?"

I put a hand on her shoulder to quiet her, shaking my head very slightly. Slowly, I crept around the bend, keeping one hand on Mayu's arm to guide her in the almost complete blackness. We rounded the corner to see Li hovering back and fourth in front of something on the wall. Upon further inspection, I could see nothing. By the look on Mayu's face, neither could she, however, by mutual, unspoken agreement, neither of us uttered a word, knowing that the enemy may be close. I edged closer to the pixie, and her color gradually shifted to orange, casting better light on the walls.

"What is it, Feyliya?" I said in the barest whisper.

Li turned around slowly, shaking her tiny head and seeming to understand how serious I was, perhaps by my use of her full name. "I… 'm not sure…" she looked around, confused. "I… don't really see anything, but I _feel_ something… like an energy or something." She landed and stood on my outstretched hand. "I think something or some_one_ left some sort of energy signature trail, kinda like a transerver, but a little different. Since I'm pure energy, I can sorta feel it, like splashes of warm water or something."

Something tickled at the back of my mind, the possibility of danger ebbing the inner reaches of my consciousness, gnawing there like a small, shadowed demon. _What am I overlooking? What could I possibly be forgetting?_ I looked over at Mayu, wondering if she had any idea, but the puzzled expression on her face told me that she did not.

I swallowed back the rising caution like bile in my throat and motioned for the three of us to continue on. I would not say that it was fear that I had felt, at least not for myself, but there was a complete sense of _wrongness_ about the situation, and the fact that there was a frail human life trailing along behind me did absolutely nothing to ease the uncomfortable feeling. I turned to my orange-clad charge finally, locking my eyes on hers determinely.

"I want you to go back now," I said in a tone that spoke no argument.

Predictably, she replied with an equally certain, "No."

"I mean it," I hissed. "I have a feeling that things are going to get ugly-" I stopped, catching a glint of something in Li's rusty light. Jogging quickly into the new tunnel entrance, I found it to a be a room- a room stocked full of equipment. Battle equipment. Although this was what I had been searching for, the sight did not please me in the least. "…Blast…" was all I could manage to mutter, taking in the weapon stock before me. Li fluttered into the cove, shining more brightly, a lighter, more yellow version of orange, and cast her full brilliance over the supplies.

"'Ugly' isn't the half of it," Mayu whispered, coming up beside me. I blinked, coming out of my half-daze.

"You need to go. Now." I began typing in coordinates on the portable transerver to send her back, but she covered the panel with her hand, shaking her head vigorously.

"What about you? You're not going to stay here alone, are you?" She looked fearful, worried, yet determine.

"I'm going to see what else I can find here. I need to know as much as I can." I wrenched the panel away from her blocking palm.

"I'm not going without you!" The look of utter loyalty in her eyes left me taken aback, but here was no way that I was going to allow a human to accompany me on what now promised to be a dangerous mission. I continued to type in coordinates on the portable trans, having to turn away from Mayu as she tried to stop me.

"Don't, Sage! I'm a soldier, too; I'm not so helpless that I need to be shielded from battle! What happens of there's no one to help you when you need it?"

I glanced at her once, somewhat grateful for her concern, but unwilling to allow her to win this time. I activated the trans-

"Harpuia! That energy trail- it's back, and recent!" Li flew about frantically, darting from one point to another and changing color with each stop.

"Not now, Li, I-" I paused, realizing that she had called me "Harpuia" with no sarcasm, and I stopped to take in what she had said. Belatedly, I realize that the trans had not worked. "We're being jammed," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"Wh- what?" Mayu shrank back a bit, eyes darting around as though expecting to find something.

_Energy trails… Similar to a transerver, but not… a jammed trans signal…_ It was all starting to click in my mind, making a chilling sort of sense. "Mayu," I said lowly, "I think … we may have walked right into a trap…"

"A trap…" she repeated, suddenly looking a thousand times less certain than she had a moment ago.

"A jammed signal," I muttered out loud. "Someone knows we're here. Energy signatures, like a trans but not; like a short-range teleporter… like… Phase." I felt stupid now for not figuring it out sooner, for not checking for a jamming signal, for not- _no,_ I told myself. _Should'ves would'ves and could'ves are no good once the thing is done._

"Very perceptive of you," a familiar, refined baritone voice greeted, and I narrowed my eyes and clenched my teeth, although I could as of yet not see the source. "But then, I'm being much too kind," Phase continued, appearing in my line of sight. He was gone again, just as quickly. "I really thought more highly of you, you know." I whirled to find him standing behind me, a smug expression on his narrow face. "For one named Sage, I had imagined that you would prove to hold more wisdom than this." He disappeared and reappeared to the side of us. "But then, what more could I expect from one who actually believes that these useless humans are valuable?" He raised the massive claw on the his left arm to point a Mayu. "Pathetic creature. So frail… I would imagine that your fragile little spine would easily be crushed into a fine powder…"

My rage was growing by the second, and I activated both of my sabers simultaneously. "Maverick," I ground, my expression growing darker by the minute. "any reploid who harms a human must die."

Phase laughed, as though what I had said was merely a joke. "We'll see who will die first… Your little human pet looks like a good target to me."

Mayu took an involuntary step back and I shoved her roughly behind me, my rage finally coalescing into battle frenzy. With a vengeful cry and a raised saber, I sprinted at my enemy.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Predictably, Phase vanished. I had, of course, taken this possibility into account, and likewise was prepared to change my course of action. I had my right foot forward when he disappeared, and launched myself backward off of it, changing my direction fully with a twist of my hips. Barely stopping to think about it, I grabbed Mayu roughly by her forearms and flung her away as the specter reappeared next to her and with his claw slashed the empty air where she had been standing. Mayu, now with a chance to react, activated her own beam-daggers and dodged around me to lunge at him. _She's going to fight no matter what I do,_ I realized, also charging the pale reploid and hoping that the human girl would have the good sense to avoid leaving herself open.

Our ghost-like nemesis swung his left arm again at the orange-clad woman, and she dropped beneath the swipe, slide-tackling his legs. He stumbled, but vanished again, leaving a silver fog behind, and teleporting in behind me. He struck out with a kick aimed for my back with one red-spiked boot, but I whirled to the side. His leg passed by my midsection and I grabbed it from the air, yanking and dumping him to the ground, although he teleported again before he landed, appearing a bit farther down the cave.

"You coward," I called out acidly. "You rely on cheap parlor tricks to keep you out of harm's way. Stand and fight!" I was taunting him, hoping to anger him into making a careless mistake. Such tactics were usually below me, but I found myself not caring how admirably I dealt with this foe, since he himself fought dishonorably, and more importantly, had openly threatened a human. Mayu ran down the corridor after him, her daggers held backwards and parallel to her forearms, drawn back and ready to strike like a venomous serpent. The red and white reploid waited until she was nearly close enough to attack and then flashed from in front of her to behind her.

I saw the blow before it came, but was too far back to do anything about it. _Move, _move… was all my mind could scream… and she did. Her sudden twist in her attack was so precise, she had to have been expecting Phase's next move; with all grace, she turned her body to face him while skidding her legs backward, nearly lying down in the air. Since there was no way for her to regain her balance, as she took the fall intentionally, sliding back between his legs as he swung at her previously occupied space. Bringing both blades out, she caught him in either calf and sent him stumbling backward, dangerously close to stepping on her.

By this time, I had managed to get close enough to perform an attack of my own, and I drove a saber straight for his head. He disappeared and reappeared again, this time transing in where we had been at the start, a fair distance behind us now. I pulled Mayu from the floor, although she did not particularly look as though she needed help, and glared back at the specter.

Phase chuckled, his right hand held in a curious position next to his face. "Very amusing," he nodded jovially. "I'm surprised; the human hasn't let herself be destroyed yet. What a… vain effort." He frowned and looked down at his claw. "I supposed I should stop drawing this out more than it needs to be, and simply destroy you both." The hand by his face began to glow with whitish power, and I stepped in front of Mayu protectively. I was not sure what he had in mind, but I was quite certain that I could take the blow better than she could. Suddenly, he was no longer in front of us, but to the side, and let a blast of clear, precise energy fly in our direction. From the new angle, it would have hit us both, but Li flew in front of us and erected her barrier, sapping the power from the attack.

"Harpy-boy, slaughter him!" she hollered, flying angrily at his face, although it would not accomplish anything. "Human-killing Maverick!" she screeched at him, her orange light bright enough to be blinding. Phase teleported again, appearing on our other side.

Mayu drew back her sabers to slash at him, but he was apparently more set on confusing us now, and appeared right in front of me before she could swing. I, too, tried to attack, but he vanished again, coming in behind me to kick the small of my back. I stumbled forward from the blow and whirled to face him, but he was gone again. Mayu stood with her back to the wall, trying to avoid any surprises. She appeared ready to counter anything he threw at her.

_Perhaps humans aren't as helpless as I once thought, _I conceded to myself. _However, that doesn't change the fact that you can't just rebuild them if they're destroyed. _Our enemy appeared directly in front of the girl, and I dove at him, intent on attacking before he did. He looked at me with a growl and vanished again, forcing me to stop and hover in midair so I did not crash into Mayu.

"This is going nowhere," I muttered darkly, and she nodded in agreement.

"There's no place to move here; you really can't even use your boosters," she acknowledged. "He's just gonna go on like this 'til one of us makes a mistake."

I shook my head. I hated running from battle like this, but… "Make for our exit," I hissed. "If you get there before me… just jump. Trust me." She looked uncertain, but nodded.

"Incoming," Li screamed in warning, and I felt the piercing weight of Phase's claw pitch me sideways. I turned my head as I was falling to see him direct his attention toward Mayu, but she was already following my instructions and bolting for the side-tunnel.

"Oh, no you don't," the ghost-like figure growled, vanishing and reappearing almost on top of her.

Mayu let out a little exclamation as she was knocked to the floor. Phase attempted to jab her with his pointed boot, but she rolled out of the way and grabbed the corner of his cape, yanking him off-balance. I used the distraction to slam into the back of him, sabers pointed before me. Both tips punctured about a half an inch before he disappeared again. Mayu jumped up from the floor, recovering surprisingly quickly, and I shoved her in front of me to run down the tunnel. I was capable of running much faster than she, but I was intent on covering the rear, so I slowed my pace considerably to match hers.

Phase appeared in front of us and we both broke and dodged around him, slashing as we passed. He sidestepped my attack and lunged for Mayu, swinging his claw in an overhand blow that caught her across the back and sent her crashing against the wall. She landed on her hands and knees and struggled to get up quickly. Blood welled from the deep gash that the enemy had inflicted.

_"Mayu!"_ I yelled hoarsely. _Blast it; I should have known he'd try to kill her first. _I turned to Phase. "Maverick!" I screamed, my normally calm-sounding voice rough with rage.

The ghost-like entity laughed without any real humor. "So, I have struck a pathetic human; what do you think you can do about it?" He teleported as I moved to attack him and caught me on the side of the head with a backhand swing from his claw. I toppled to the ground and rolled into a sweep-kick to take him down. He disappeared and reappeared over me, claw raised to strike. "You amuse me. For all that I have heard about your great fighting abilities, you're careless.

"And you talk too much," Mayu spat, driving one beam-dagger into his back. He gave a wordless exclamation and vanished again, ending up somewhere behind us. I did not wait to see where, or to launch another attack. We were at a disadvantage with the terrain, and I wanted to get my human friend out of danger. I gingerly picked Mayu up in my arms, trying to avoid her wounded back, and took a few steps forward at a sprint. _More speed than this…_ I kicked in my thrusters and flew recklessly down the tunnel. Mayu, not sure what else to do, simply clung to my neck, but I could feel her muscles tense, still ready and willing to fight._ More of my warriors need that kind of spirit._

I saw a white blur at my side and realized that Phase was keeping pace with me with his teleporting, and would soon be ahead. I screeched to a stop, my metal-soled heels grating noisily against the floor, and set down my lightweight burden. Phase overcompensated and appeared too far in front of me to attack. I threw a crescent of blade energy in his face and urged Mayu to keep running without me. Phase teleported to follow, but I anticipated his next location and met him with a sharp kick to the face. He stumbled back and I thrust forward with my left-hand blade, attempting to score a direct hit to his chest. He, of course, vanished again, and I used the brief moment to run after Mayu, knowing that if I did not, he may very well get to her first.

Mayu's wound was most definitely causing her pain, and she was out of breath, but she continued to run anyway, knowing that it was crucial to me that she escaped. I again activated my boosters and grabbed her as I passed, hoping that I did not hurt her, but not having the time to be gentle. Li was having trouble keeping up, but I thought that I could see light ahead, giving me hope that we were almost there.

Phase appeared just ahead of me and clothes-lined me, and I flung Mayu out of the way. I used the force of the blow to my advantage, flipping over completely and landing on my feet beside my pale foe. I then ducked beneath his follow-up swing and slashed his well-armored stomach with both sabers. Mayu pulled herself from the floor and moved to help me, but I shook my head and yelled, "Get out of here, I'll hold him off!"

She looked as though she were about to argue, but closed her mouth and nodded determinedly. _Good; she understands. _Phase teleported after Mayu, but I anticipated the move and ran in behind him, yanking him back away from her by the throat. I caught hold of his cape and threw him to the floor, planting a solid kick into his left side that sent him crashing into the wall. He glowered and disappeared again, and I used the momentary freedom to continue my retreat down the corridor. Mayu was out of sight around the corner, and with every turn, I hoped to see the light of day blinding my darkness-attuned eyes, promising escape.

Phase flashed past me, and I pushed myself to run faster, not quite daring to activate my boosters since a wrong move in the winding corridor would have easily sent me careening into the wall. _I've gotta be almost there…_ And then there was sunlight hitting my face like a beacon of promise, and I breathed a mental sigh of relief- A sigh that was cut short as the pale specter appeared between Mayu and I and kicked her already-wounded back, sending her flying off the edge of the precipice.

"Mayu!" I leapt after her, but felt an iron grip on my ankle as Phase grabbed hold of me and flung me against the wall.

"You won't be saving her today," he informed me coldly. "How does it feel to be helpless?"

"Surprisingly not all that different than anything else lately," I growled. "It sucks." I activated my boosters, carrying us both off the ledge, and dove after my charge, catching up to her, catching her, and slowing our descent to land lightly on the ground.

"…Ow…" Mayu managed , rubbing her back after I had set her down. "Where'd ghost-boy run off to?"

I looked up, but saw no sign. "I don't know, and presently, I don't care. If we're away from the jamming signal, we're returning to base."

Mayu frowned, looked away, and nodded. "Guess I was pretty useless."

_We'll talk later._ I activated the portable transerver, which was now working perfectly, and had us both teleported back to base.

* * *

"We need to attack swiftly, decisively… and soon," I commanded, addressing all of the top officers for the Rekku, Jin'en, and Meikai armies. I had made certain that all notable military personnel with a mid-high rank and up were present, and the conference room was full nigh on to bursting, but the discordant murmurs of unrest had ceased some time ago as I had begun to address the crowd. Although I would tolerate interruption in the form of legitimate questions, only my fellow guardians and the occasional general ever bothered to give any input, whether it be inquiries, suggestions, or comments. I took that to mean that they were satisfied with my leadership and my information; either that, or no one dared to contradict me. In my present mood, that was not a particularly unreasonable scenario.

There was a lengthy, heavy silence that reigned until Fefnir finally broke it, standing from his chair with his hands on the table. "Wait… Just how soon are you thinkin'?" His frown creased his face, actually aging him a few years, testament to how bothered he was by my latest report. "The Rekku and Jin'en armies have barely recovered from that last battle, y'know."

"It can't be helped," I told him, allowing a hint of regret to taint my voice. "We know they're there now, and obviously _they_ know we were there. I'm sure they're packing up as we speak and watching over their shoulders to see if we attack." I narrowed my eyes. "We won't disappoint them."

"But doesn't that mean they're expecting us?" Leviathan asked incredulously. "We could walk straight into an ambush." Her eyes were worried, and she shifted uneasily in her chair.

I nodded. "That has occurred to me," I conceded. "However, that information works both ways; they won't be sure what we're going to do because they know what we know and vice-versa. I admit that it's a volatile situation, and attacking will, doubtless, be dangerous, but it's a war. These kinds of risks must be taken to achieve any kind of victory."

Fefnir grinned, a much more customary expression for his features than the last. "Well, if that's the way it's gotta be, we'll give it our all."

Magnion, however, seemed much more reluctant to accept the battle plans and turned his head to shoot me a disapproving glare. "I would think that more stealth would be a bit more appropriate in this case."

"What good is stealth when they already know we're coming?" Falcon fired back, angry at Magnion's questioning of my decision.

Hyleg Ourobockle waved his serpentine head back and fourth. "If there is an ambush awaiting our arrival, perhaps we need a different approach altogether."

The meeting quickly deteriorated into a cacophony of one voice trying to be heard over another. Arguments broke out across tables, and some of the less intelligent mutos soldiers resorted to bellowing animal noises to get their points across. I shared an aggravated glance with Fefnir and Leviathan before rising, pounding a fist on the table, and shouting, "_Silence!"_

All disagreement ceased as I clenched my fists and attempted to regain control of my temper- and the meeting. The sound of my voice raised in wrath was usually enough to stun everyone into muteness, since normally I spoke with a sort of soft calmness. My men had long since learned, however, that that did _not_ translate to weakness. I stared down at the table for a moment. My knuckles had left a shallow dent in the polished wood. "This is no longer up for discussion," I said slowly. "Since you all lack the competence to discuss this in a coherent manner, you'll simply have to deal with my decision." I gazed coldly over my men. "Dismissed."

There was a collective shuffling as all rose and made their way to the door. Falcon shot me a sympathetic glance, and I nodded in return. Fefnir and Leviathan moved past me and I stopped them both.

"Meet me up in my office," I told them, pressing my forehead against my thumb and forefinger. "Hopefully we, at least, can manage to talk about his without getting into a yelling match."

"Hey, if this is what you-" Fefnir began, but I held up my hand to silence him.

"Just save it all until we get up there. I think I need a minute or two to myself."

He nodded in understanding, and Leviathan patted my shoulder and gave me an empathetic smile before they both left the room.

I waited until the conference area had cleared out before leaving myself, but instead of going directly to my office, I decided to take a detour down to the medical center where Mayu was recuperating from her wounds. She would have been present at the meeting if not for that, so I thought that I should give her a brief summary of the disaster of a conference I had just gone through.

The woman was lying listlessly on her stomach on one of the med-ward cots with her face buried in her arms and the pillow. She was covered by a sheet and wore a simple hospital-style gown. It surprised me just a bit; I had always seen her in full armor. _She looks so… human… and helpless. _I shook off the thought, knowing that she was anything but helpless.

"Hey," I said softly, wondering if she was asleep, and not sure how to start a conversation. I was still getting used to the idea that she was not a reploid, and sometimes it felt just a bit awkward.

She turned her head to the side, looked at me with bleary eyes, and mumbled something that sounded vaguely like "Hi." She looked tired and worn, almost as though since I now knew her secret she had let her guard down. I pulled a chair over and sat down.

"So, how are you feeling?" I inquired, not wanting to start right out with a report on the meeting. Presently, I cared more about her condition, anyway.

"Like crap," She muttered, burying her face in her pillow again. She seemed a bit embarrassed, and I did not blame her, in a way. I was the Master of Neo-Arcadia, and I was standing in front of her in her weakest moment. I placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll be fine soon." I thought about telling her that she had no obligation to continue being a spy, but I knew from experience that that was not what she wanted. Instead, I shrugged, managed a half-smile, and said, "You'll be info-gathering again for us in no time."

She sighed. "I hope so. This really sucks. If I even move, my back starts bleeding again."

"They said you're healing fast, and your armor was repaired, too." I sat back. "We could re-design the armor a bit, if you want, so it would be more protective."

"Better not," she told me. "The Resistance would notice the difference and wonder who did it."

"Does the Resistance know you're a human?" I wondered suddenly. _They must, if she spends so much time there. Humans have different needs than reploids; no wonder she never stuck around here for very long._

"Yeah," she said uneasily. She turned her head again to look at me sorrowfully. "I'm sorry for lying to you, Sage. I just… didn't know how else to do what I needed to do."

"I'm not mad," I said. "Not anymore. But, I've found out the one thing that scares me, and that's the idea that I could have caused a human to come to harm." I looked at her meaningfully. "Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"I'm sorry," she said miserably. "I wish I could say I shouldn't have done that, but I really don't feel that way. I just… I can't do nothing. I'm not content with that."

"Yeah," I answered finally. "I understand that." I forced my expression to be stern. "But don't hide any important information from me again, whether it be about you or anything else. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she said quietly. "…All I can say is I'm sorry. I… didn't want to mislead you, and I never wanted to put you in a bad position."

"Your apology is accepted. I thought I told you that back in the cave. You don't need to keep saying you're sorry." I gave her just a hint of a smile. "Human or no, it doesn't change that fact that you've been a great help to us, and I thank you for that."

She looked relieved. "I'm glad." And after a pause, "I suppose you didn't really come down here just for a pep-talk. What's up?"

I chuckled. "Perceptive as usual." The minuscule smile died on my face and I chewed half-heartedly at my lower lip before realizing what I was doing and stopping.

Mayu, apparently noticing the habit, let out a breath. "Uh-oh… What's wrong now?"

I decided to plunge ahead. "I called a meeting of everyone of rank to give them the information that we gathered. Unfortunately, there is some…dissent over what to do with it. I did the best I could, but sometimes…" I broke my phrase with a sigh. "Sometimes I wonder how smart I really am as opposed to how smart everyone _thinks_ I am."

She turned toward me little more and chuckled. "You're living up to your name, Sage."

"What do you mean?"

"One who is wise… it's the destiny of someone possessing great intelligence and wisdom to question everything."

I snorted. "I have enough questions, all right. Not enough answers, though."

She tried to shrug, but winced in pain. "Well, regardless of how much you question your own decisions, I'll support whatever course of action you plan in the end."

My lip twitched in just the slightest hint of a smile. "Thanks. That means a lot." I shifted, draping my arms over my knees. "Anyway, the meeting…"

"Well, how bad was it?" she asked wryly.

I made a sound halfway between a groan and a growl. "I ended up dismissing them all and saying, in word, 'deal with it.' Had you been there, you may have mistaken it for a zoo instead of a gathering of what are supposed to be Neo-Arcadia's finest."

"Ouch," she breathed empathetically. "Sorry it went like that. What's the end result?"

"We're attacking them head-on. I've ordered the top generals of all armies to prepare to move out as soon as possible."

Her expression turned worried. "Isn't that pretty risky, after what just happened to us?"

I nodded. "Of course it is. War is a game of taking risks, but I don't think they'll be expecting something this direct."

"But we don't really know what they have to throw at us," she pointed out. "What are their numbers? What is their weaponry? How prepared are they?"

"All good questions," I agreed. "And so we will be prepared for the worst; we overkill, if we must."

She managed a grin. "Now, I like overkill."

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay 'Fefnir.'" She smiled at that, and I continued on seriously. "We're going to hit them and hit hard, sending in every main force we have. However, that leaves us relatively open for an attack from the Resistance. It's up to you to tell me how likely that is."

"Not likely at all." She rolled onto her side, wincing against the pain in her back. "Not after the number you did on 'em last time. I think you freaked 'em out; they're convinced that they didn't plan well enough, and I guess it hit home to them just how little it would have taken for you to have totally decimated their forces." She cocked her head to the side. "I got to hear some pretty interesting horror stories about you while I was working in maintenance. Seems you strike fear into the hearts of many."

"Is that so? And why weren't you afraid of me?" I questioned sardonically.

"Because I was already prepared to face the consequences of my actions, whatever they would be." She turned her face away from me. "Of course, that's not to say that my decisions were particularly good ones."

I shook my head. "A conversation for another time, perhaps. But you are certain the Resistance won't choose now to strike at us again?"

"As sure as I can be in the matter." She rolled onto her stomach again.

"I must be going," I informed her. "Fefnir and Leviathan are waiting for me in my office. I shouldn't keep them."

"All right. Good luck."

"Thanks. Rest easy." I rose from my seat and gave her a lop-sided grin in farewell. She returned it and I turned and left, heading quickly up to my office. I was met by two humorless glares when I opened the door, fiery red and icy blue. "Sorry for the delay," I managed.

"You could've warned me you'd be awhile," Fefnir grumbled. "I'm hungry. I could have been getting food!"

"You don't even technically need to eat," I pointed out mundanely.

"You're missing the point, Sage," Leviathan sighed. "Anyway, what kept you? Something important?"

"Mayu," I shrugged. "Figured I'd inform her of the present situation."

"How is she?" Leviathan wondered with mild concern. "She's gonna be all right, right?"

"I'm sure. She seems pretty resilient for a human." I flopped into the seat behind my desk. "Still, it still hits me as a bit of a shock. Who would've thought that a human would get herself involved in this war when she didn't have to?"

"Hey, that takes some courage, I bet," Leviathan nodded. "In that case, I think she puts a lot of our soldiers to shame."

I noticed Fefnir fidgeting uncomfortably. "What is it, Fefnir?" I gave him a steady, unwavering stare, knowing that he had something on his mind, and wanting him to know that he could not back out of telling me what it was.

"Huh? Nothin.'" He pretended great interest in picking at the arm of his chair.

"We know you too well, Fefnir," Leviathan urged. "Come on, spill it." She gave him the full brunt of her large, watery eyes. "Please?"

"Err…" He made the mistake of looking at Leviathan, and then quickly looked away again. Unlike me, he was not immune to her "charms."

"I- uh… kinda knew about this."

"About _what?_" I thought I already knew the answer to that, but…

"I knew she was human, okay?" He continued to pick at the chair arm, scowling."

"You _what!_" Leviathan and I exclaimed nearly simultaneously.

"Fefnir, why…" Leviathan tried to bite back some of her anger. "Why wouldn't you _tell_ us that? That's no small thing; it's a big deal!" She stood up, standing in front of him and forcing him to look at her. "Look, you breaking the window on the lookout tower and not telling you did it; that wasn't at big deal. When you 'accidentally' blasted a hole in the wall of the indoor shooting range; that wasn't terribly important. Heck, when you drained all the water out of the pool without telling me, I even forgave _that_." She took a step closer. "_But this is important!" _What were you thinking! She could have been killed!"

Fefnir looked miserable. "I promised her. Y'know, trust between pals 'n all, right?"

"Trust? _Trust!_ Let me tell you about-"

"Sit down, Leviathan," I commanded quietly. Her tirade could have easily lasted a good deal longer, and I thought I had better diffuse the situation before it became worse. Turning my gaze on the crimson warlord, I sighed. "Explain, Fefnir. Why did she tell you and not the rest of us?"

"We're sparring partners. Of course I had to know she was human, or I would'a decimated her. But she made me promise not to tell, and, y'know, I wouldn't go back on my word to a friend…"

"Fefnir, did it not occur to you that she could have been killed? She was seriously wounded as it is."

"She wasn't out fightin' anymore when she told me, just spyin' on the Resistance. I didn't know you were gonna go off on some crazy recon mission. Besides, knowing what I know of her, she would'a gone even if you'd tried to stop her."

Leviathan looked upset. "But _I'm_ your friend, too, and you weren't honest with me." She looked as though she were about to say more, but finally mumbled, "She could've been killed."

"I'm not going to argue with your logic, Fefnir. It's too… ah… " I paused, searching for the right terminology. "Mind-boggling to think through. But don't you _dare_ do something like that again." I did not voice it out loud, but I was also a bit hurt by the fact that both Fefnir and Mayu had hidden the truth from me. They were two of my closest friends, and they had seen fit to mislead me? _Am I so cold that people feel as though they can't confide in me?"_

"See? Look. You hurt Harpuia's feelings, too," Leviathan informed Fefnir indignantly.

"I'm not hurt," I lied. "I'm angry that I apparently cannot trust my fellow Guardian as much as I thought I could."

"Would'ya just _stop_ already?" Fefnir finally exclaimed. "Past is past, what's done is done. We all know now, and she seems to be fine, so what're we discussin' it for?" His face twisted in defensive anger. "If you're planning on punishing me or something , then do it. I don't see any reason to sit here talking about it."

"You're right, Fefnir," I conceded with a sigh. "There is nothing more to say about the matter, so it is pointless to continue. As far as punishment goes…" I narrowed my eyes almost imperceptibly. "I think it's punishment enough to think about what could've happened."

Fefnir growled very softly to himself, and Leviathan sat in an unhappy silence while I stared at a paper without really seeing it. Li, who had been quiet for once, apparently could not stand the heavy silence that fell on the room and perched on top of the paperweight on my desk, singing something out loud just to make noise. I looked idly at the weight she was standing on, the one that had mysteriously gotten a paperclip embedded in the side. It was a glass, four-sided pyramid with three-dimensional gold lettering inside proclaiming "Neo-Arcadia; peace at last." It had been there when I had moved into the office twenty years ago, and perhaps then had had some meaning Now it seemed a joke in poor taste.

"Earth to Harpuia; stop staring at the naked elf," Leviathan said, breaking into my thoughts.

"I was looking at the paperweight," I muttered, shifting my green-eyed gaze to the female Guardian.

"I know," She smiled with a shrug. "But it got your attention, didn't it? Now come on, we can't sit here like this forever. Forgive and forget, right? We're a team, and more importantly, we're friends. Things like this are going to happen sometimes, but we can't let it get in the way of that or what needs to be done."

A slow, very small smile crept to my face. "And people say _I'm_ the wise one? Well said, Fairy." We both turned to Fefnir expectantly.

"I want a cookie," he managed drowsily.

Leviathan's face fell slightly. "What?"

"What?" Fefnir answered, looking around confusedly. "_What_ what?"

"Uh… never mind." I looked from one to the other, trying to tell if Fefnir had, in fact, dozed off, or if he was merely trying to disgruntle Leviathan, which seemed to be working if that were the case. I could not, however, decide which it was.

"All right, the meeting," I began, changing the subject.

"That was a disaster," Leviathan moaned.

"I know," I nodded. "I apologize for losing my temper, but-"

"Don't apologize," she said, making a face. "I think I might've just speared a couple of 'em myself."

"Yeah, keep in mind, Harpuia," Fefnir added, now completely coherent, "if you lost it then, any of the rest of us would've a long time before that."

I snorted. "I think that's why I've _always_ been in charge of the meetings, even when Master X and Phantom were alive." I leaned back, shoving the paper I had been pretending to look at before off to the side. "Anyway, yes Leviathan, it was a disaster. Which is why I am hoping that the three of us are capable of discussing it like adults." I glanced at Fefnir. "Although that remains to be seen."

"You really don't think that they'll be expecting us to attack?" Leviathan wanted to know.

"I'm sure they are, but I doubt that they'll be expecting us to hit them with all three armies. Sometimes the most unexpected move is a direct one. Also, we'll be attacking them today; I don't think they're expecting us to mobilize this soon. On top of that, the enemy, although we know little about it, seems to enjoy secrecy, therefore I would bet my right arm that they're moving out as we speak, and probably not in the best position for battle.

"Makes sense," Fefnir said, scratching his chin.

"I still feel a little nervous about it," Leviathan sighed. "I dunno, maybe I'm just a little edgy overall about this new enemy. And you said that Mayu has been trying to fight against them by herself for how long?"

"Actually, she battled the occasional demi-dragon, but didn't know about the rest. And she's been doing it for four years…" I trailed off in surprise and added softly, "Since she was sixteen."

"I guess that's what they call growing up fast," Fefnir shrugged, the same shock etched on his dark-skinned features.

"What the heck's a human doing, going out and fighting like that!" Leviathan exclaimed. "She was just a child! She practically still _is!_"

"Her part," I said softly.

"Huh?" Leviathan asked incredulously.

"She told me that she just wants to do her part; that she can't sit around and do nothing. I think I understand… even if I don't like it."

"Tough kid," Fefnir nodded in admiration. Leviathan shot him a dirty look.

"Back to the subject," I chided. "Now that we're free of interruptions, are there anymore aspects of this battle that you want to discuss before going to the field?"

"I think I've said my piece," Leviathan said in resignation. "Fefnir?"

"Uh…" He thought for a moment. "I still want a cookie."

I shook my head.

* * *

It was the second time that day, and the canyon looked as harsh and uninviting as ever, while still managing to be pristine and beautiful. It was the second time, but now, instead of a girl and a cyber-elf, there were three armies behind me. _And still a cyber-elf,_ I thought as Li flew past my line of vision. I was so used to her presence by now that I often forgot that she was there.

This time around, however, instead of being deserted and empty, Pinnacle Canyon was a bustle of frantic activity. The enemy encampment had revealed itself in trying to disappear again. I hissed between my teeth at the vast number that stretched out before me. My force was far greater and would most certainly crush them, but still… _So many. There's over a thousand men there visible to the eye. This is only an encampment? What in X's name does the main force look like?_

I felt the presence of Fefnir and Leviathan on either side of me and shared a brief but concerned glance with each of them. _What awaits us after this? Will they keep coming? _I had no idea what their intentions toward Neo-Arcadia- or the Resistance, for that matter- were, but it was clear from all previous encounters that they had bore us and the humans open hostility, and therefore needed to be held in check.

Almost immediately, the army below opened fire on us, and Fefnir motioned the Jin'en forces forward to begin their charge. I leapt to the air to hover a few feet off the ground, allowing the Rekku army to ready themselves. Being flight capable, it was our first objective to bring part of the Meikai army down to the river. I grabbed Leviathan about the waist with my right arm and held Cerussite's wrist with my left hand. Once they were both secure, I launched myself over the edge, moving to plummet toward the water. When we were about thirty feet above the torrent, both aquatic warriors dropped into a graceful swan dive to plunge into the azure waves below. The rest of my men followed suit with their own designated Meikai fighters and then followed me as I continued down in a strafing run through the enemy.

The nameless forces were made up of a rather mismatched group of humanoid and mutos reploids and robots, along with some machines that appeared to be nothing so much as walking artillery. A few lithe warriors dove into the river after the previously deposited Meikai army. Already, the foaming rapids were boiling with underwater battles that I could not see. I summoned my sabers to my hands and activated them with a hiss of energy, swiping horizontally on either side of me at passing foes. From the mass, winged forms began rising to meet us, pale and feminine and feral. I narrowed my eyes in recognition of my "kin." Perhaps I had been designed with the mythological harpy in mind, but these hideous creatures were as close to the real thing as technology could create.

Their arms and wings melded together into one, and their shapely legs ended in grotesque, grasping talons. Their white, naked flesh appeared to be unarmored, although I imagined that it was probably reinforced against attack. Their female forms were nude, but lacking detail, and as they rose from the ranks they twisted their bodies provocatively, tossing their manes of flaming red-gold hair. One came at me and smiled a toothy, animal-like grin, revealing vampire-esque fangs. Eyes shining like twin peridot, she soared above me and then dove, talons outstretched. Over the battlefield, the other pale creatures were also attacking systematically, surprisingly strong. It stuck me that they all looked nearly, if not completely, identical, obviously a standard issue from an assembly line. I tried to examine the cat-yellow-green eyes for intelligence, but simply could not tell.

"Well, aren't you a pretty thing," the harpy hissed at me, cackling in a hoarse alto; a decidedly unattractive sound. _How could I have ever been designed with these bestial whores in mind?_ I did not bother to try to figure out this little mystery, but instead charged forward to attack straight on with my sabers.

"Not a warm welcome, Pretty-Face?" She cackled again, diving to loop under and behind me, slamming my back with her claws. I allowed the attack to push me forward and continued in that direction to spear another of the winged women who had been headed our way. She cried out in a piercing shriek that made my ears ring terribly, and then she fell to the ground, acrid purple blood pouring from her wound. The scream echoed inside my head long after her lips had gone silent, resonating fiercely in my skull until it throbbed and my vision flashed dizzily. _the death-cry is a weapon,_ I realized, holding my aching forehead. The final attack caught me in a moment of weakness, and the other harpy kicked me in the small of the back and then circled around to face me, unfurling her wings and releasing a charge of angry violet energy. Li placed herself in front of me and absorbed the attack easily before retreating back to my side.

"Thanks, Li," I said breathlessly. "I'll give you credit for it this time."

"Can your little pet save you again?" the white woman laughed, lunging at me. I moved a foot and a half to the side and clothes-lined her with a blade. Her head was severed easily from her neck and deep purple blood sprayed from the artificial artery.

"She won't have to," I told the falling corpse. Fortunately, in severing the vocal chords, I had also ended the threat of another nightmarish scream. My headache was fading, and I did not particularly want another one.

Several more avian temptresses, alerted by the keening of their sister, had flown after me and now dove at me from different directions. I watched for an opening, shot through, and severed part of a wing. The creature emitted a sound that was something close to a squawk and fluttered like a wounded bird to stay aloft. Flecks of blood sprayed from the torn flesh, but ceased quickly as the pasty skin sealed over again. _The power of resilience. Any wound that is not mortal will heal within minutes. _I glanced at the harpy, who now only had half a wing. _Limbs won't regenerate, though, fortunately._

"I'll show you how a _real_ harpy fights," one of the two unwounded ones told me, twirling lavishly in the air. "Such a shame we have to kill such a pretty one; there aren't many around like you…" She smiled, showing her glistening fangs. I stabbed her through the stomach.

"I don't appreciate being called 'pretty,'" I growled, ripping the saber up through her. She tried to scream, but it was cut short by my sword splitting her throat in two. The wounded one ripped at my shoulder with her talons, but I kicked upward, falling back upside down and catching her solidly in the chin. One of her fangs broke off, and she fell back. Unable to regain her flight because of her half wing, she plummeted into the seething mass of battling reploids below.

The remaining attacker cried out in rage at the loss of her comrades and raked my back with her talons. I whirled to face her, but she rose, flapping her feathered wings and sending out a violet discharge of energy. The electricity tingled through my systems, stinging painfully but doing little real damage since my body had been designed to hold electrical charges of its own. I shook off the slight paralysis, growling at the woman.

"That was weak; I'll show you how to use lightning," I taunted, raising my sabers above my head. Before I could release the charge into the air, however, something heavy and metallic stuck my head and caused me to fall for a few short meters before regaining control and turning around to see what had hit me. I was met by a snarling mouthful of teeth.

This new creature closely resembled a metallic, winged dog. Its body was covered by silver-blue armored plates, and the wings, which were a deep blue, almost black, were made up of razor sharp, metal "feathers," and were augmented by jet boosters, since they would be incapable of holding the lupine beast aloft on their own. It glared through blood-red eyes and lunged, snapping at my arm with jaws that could doubtless tear steel apart. The harpy hovered on the other side of me, ready to attack me again, although I knew not how.

I tried to hover so that I could see both dog and woman, although my peripheral vision did not allow me to get a very good look at either. Suddenly, in a flash of color, Aztec Falcon, extending and dividing one of his wings into a grasping, claw-like device charged with magnetic energy, grabbed the harpy from the side and half-crushed, half-electrocuted her. She shrieked, and I tried to cover my ears, but to no avail. Fortunately, the winged dog apparently was effected by it, too, and pawed at its head, growling metallically. Falcon visibly winced and crushed the avian woman's throat disdainfully.

I quickly shook off the short but intense migraine that the harpy had provided and turned my attention to the flying beast that I had been watching warily. As I moved to attack, it snapped viciously at my torso and then raked me with a bladed wing as it passed.

Falcon charged the electrical energy in his split wing to fire arrow-like bolts, scattering the little shots through the air. Two hit the creature in the chest and sizzled into the armor, but the cobalt-blue beast veered around sharply, sucking in a breath, and blew out a long, boiling column of fire. _Great. Just what we needed._

The fiery stream singed falcon, and he turned his face away, but I moved in behind and slashed a saber along the dog's ribcage. It emitted a gasping rumble of pain and snapped at me. I was ready to strike again when I spied two cerulean and ebony forms, one unusually large, soaring toward me and my comrade. _I should have known… _"Falcon," I barked sharply, directing his attention to the incoming demi-dragons. He nodded once and flew to meet them while I dealt the winged canine a fatal blow, splitting the head despite the relatively tough armor.

I spared a quick glance down below. It was hard to truly make out what was going on in the roiling mass of reploids, although I could now see that the enemy army was transporting some heavier artillery that was not appropriate for this battle. Several large, lizard-like mechaniloids trudged indifferently through the melee, and upon their hunched backs I could discern heavy guns- perhaps missile launchers. _That sort of artillery is more suited for attacking a city or base,_ I noted. _Could they really have been planning such a bold move? _At least six of these massive beasts of burden moved among the men like great, lumbering tanks. I supposed that was really all they were, although what benefit there was to giving a tank legs and a head I could only guess. _Perhaps it has rudimentary intelligence to protect itself; an un-manned weapon of mass-destruction. _I reflected on that for the briefest of moments. …_Definitely not good news. _I also spied several dozen ATV's with chain-guns mounted on them. They screamed across the terrain, firing ceaselessly into groups of combating reploids, and I wondered how they avoided hitting their own men in the process.

Falcon now hovered in the air, facing the smaller of the two demi-dragons, both of his wing-like appendages split and crackling with charging electricity. He flung little darts of energy out from the pulsing charge, and they struck the black demon like a half-dozen tiny lightning bolts, flickering and sinking into the armor. The monster roared angrily and flew at Falcon with a mighty sweep of its wings. The larger one, which I guessed was probably as powerful or nearly so as the two that Mayu and I faced off with in the city, also moved to attack my ally, but I arrived just in time to counter its plans with a sharp thrust of my sabers.

Falcon and his nemesis were now locked in close-quarters combat and tumbled out of sight into the whirling mass of chaos that was the air-force. I hoped that my friend would be okay, but concentrated more on stopping the larger dragon from following them. He keened at me angrily and charged a turquoise blast of energy to fire at me, but I kicked in my full speed, flipping around underneath him and coming up behind to slash at his neck. Unfortunately, he, like the two Mayu and I had faced, had reinforced armor, and instead of severing the dark head, my blade slid off, leaving only a small gouge. The monster whirled and struck my midriff with its claws, leaving four parallel bleeding stripes. Fortunately, they were fairly shallow, and I ignored the pain, twisting away and ramming one saber into its knee joint. The demi-dragon jerked its leg away, avoiding most of the damage, and ducked its head, flying forward to ram me with its horn-like protrusions. I deactivated my boosters and fell away from the attack, although the massive body struck me, sending me toward the ground even more quickly.

I turned and dove head-first at the battle below, activating my jets about eight feet from the ground to pull up in a clean swoop. The dragon, lacking maneuverability, pulled up slightly too late and managed to knock one of its own allies flying. I hovered above the river, awaiting its next attack. It charged another blast to fire at me, but I moved just right of the shot and swung one saber like a baseball bat, returning the blast to its creator. The demon huffed, flying over the shot, and came at me with extended talons. The blue plasma ball continued on to hit an ATV broadside, sending the rider careening through the air to land atop a comrade on another vehicle. The driver veered, careening into the side of the canyon and creating a massive explosion. The other ATV, with no one to control it, plowed into the side of one the giant robotic beasts of burden, causing the monster to rear up and fall over, crushing many enemy soldiers in the process. My men quickly overpowered it, making sure it would never get up. I grinned to myself. _That couldn't have gone better if I'd planned it._

I turned and dove into the water to avoid the dragon's claws, shooting back up about six feet from my starting point. I was met in the face by a turquoise wing. The razor-edge missed, but the blue webbing seared my cheek and knocked me back into the water. I was grateful for the cooling liquid on the burn, and I noticed that the demi-dragon was unwilling to venture into the rapids. _A bad reaction to water, perhaps?_ I watched for the dark shadow to pass over, marring the bright ceiling above me, and swam upward, quickly enough that I shot halfway out of the water once I reached the surface. Leviathan may have been our top swimmer, but I was not so bad at it myself. I came up behind it and kicked its back, right between its wings, with all my strength, sending it reeling forward. My hope was to knock it into the water to see what would happen, but I had no such luck and the monster retained relative control of its flight, whirling around to face me with a growl.

As it turned, Leviathan shot out of the water behind me, sweeping her harpoon in a great arc. To my surprise, the blade passed through wings' webbing with a little trouble, crackling slightly.

Leviathan's harpoon was unique in the fact that it gathered surrounding moisture and froze it into an incredibly sharp blade that constantly rejuvenated itself. That way, the true blade of the weapon never dulled, and the outer coating of ice was so cold that it was likely to affect what it came in contact with, freezing blood and circuitry and causing malfunctions. Obviously, the weapon was most powerful underwater, and when it was at full power, it could actually leave frozen hunks of ice behind it, encumbering enemies and causing ones not built to withstand cold to grow sluggish. Since Leviathan had been underwater for quite some time, the blade was at peak strength and sliced easily into the spokes of the demi-dragon's right wing, deactivating it. Now incapable of flight, it plunged into the river after Leviathan, who had once again disappeared from sight. The water crackled with shorted-out energy, and partially out of curiosity, I dove in to see what was happening.

All energy-based areas of the dragon had died off, which was probably the disruption I had seen. _It's defenseless. Wings, claws, energy-blasts… useless in the water. _On top of that, it sank like a rock, flailing and attempting to roar, which was greatly muffled by the water. Leviathan dove after it, her harpoon held out to her side, her arm extended. Cerussite, cutting swiftly through the water, got to it first and tore into it fiercely. His claws were not reinforced the same way Leviathan's spear was, and did not cut through the armor so smoothly, but they still ripped into the ebony plating deeply, and gouts of black blood discolored the water like ink from some desperate undersea creature. Through the dark mist, I could make out Leviathan's lithe form as she decapitated the beast. That done, she swam back to me with a grin on her face.

"Not bad, eh?" Her voice was muffled and watery, but I could understand it. Talking underwater was a bit of a trick, and one that I was not very adept at, so I simply nodded and gave her a very slight approving smile.

When my head again broke the surface, I tread water for the time being and took a moment to note the positions of any nearby allies and enemies. Falcon was still in battle with the smaller demi-dragon, but I could not tell who had the upper hand. Several harpies swooped down toward me, but were too far off to worry about for the moment. Leviathan came up beside me.

"Those things don't have much affinity for water. If you can lead them in close enough, Cerussite and I can dispatch them easily. Right, Cerussite?"

The icy blue, perpetually mute reploid nodded once, his eerily glowing eyes locked on the combat overhead. Leviathan and I, of course, had not expected a verbal reply from the cold-faced warrior; in fact, I could not recall a single instance in which he had spoken. Although his schematics contained obvious vocal chords, he apparently chose to let them lie dormant. _To each his own, _I shrugged inwardly_. As long as he does has duty and follows orders, I couldn't care less if he talks or not; he could talk to himself, for all I care._

I looked up at the harpies again. "It sounds like a good plan, but don't be surprised if it gets interrupted."

Leviathan nodded in understanding, and I jetted out of the water and veered toward Falcon, who was firing a concentrated burst of electricity at his black foe. I rammed the demon from behind, stabbing both sabers into its back between the wings, and then kicked off with my feet, ripping the daggers out again and sending the creature flying toward Falcon. He opened one wing and used a magnetic charge to grasp the demi-dragon, prepared to dive into the ground or water with the captive.

"Take it to the water," I ordered. "Leviathan and Cerussite will do the rest."

He complied and I watched just long enough to see him dump the beast into the churning rapids. After that, I did not have time for anything else, as the new group of harpies were upon me, diving with their talons, sending violet charges of electricity boiling at me. One bolt glanced off my armor, but did little more than sting. Since my body was built to channel electricity, it would take a charge of unimaginable power to really damage me. I flew into one of the offending winged women, ripping my sabers downward through her unarmored wings. That was a bit of a mistake.

As her torn wings sprayed deep violet blood, she screamed, the sound giving me an instant migraine. Squinting through my flashing vision, I watched as her face went blank and relaxed. _The producer of the scream damages her own mental pathways, _I deduced. _Which is why they only scream when they're dying; it's a suicide move._

I held my head against the pain, trying to see through malfunctioning optic sensors. My head pounded and rang, and I hissed between my teeth, waiting- hoping- for a fast recovery. I was hit in the chest by a set of sharp talons and sent flying backwards into the chest of another of the pale females. My head was beginning to clear, and I managed to stab backwards though the cold embrace, impaling her stomach. She screeched in pain like a vulture and let go, but as I backed away, I saw that the wound was already beginning to close. They just heal too quickly; I have to kill them in one hit, no matter what. I lunged at the harpy again, but was knocked to the side before I could reach her. Something seared hotly into my ribs, almost instantly cauterizing itself, which meant whatever it was was a highly concentrated beam or laser-type weapon. I immediately turned myself around in my half-controlled flight to spy, as I had suspected, a new enemy.

The harpies gathered around her like chicks to their mother, and I assumed that she as a military higher-up in the air force. Unlike her ghostly charges, her face was beautiful rather than bestial, and was graced with glowing white markings like tattoos. A set of huge, pure-white feathered wings sprouted from her back, lightly armed with green-gold plating. She wore a blood-red body suit, also adorned with green-gold markings, which revealed her rather idealistic figure. _cumbersome for battle,_ I thought disdainfully. _Her creator apparently tried to combine his idea of beauty with a warrior. Bad choice. _I hung back, sabers ready, but not wanting to strike without knowing what my enemy was doing first. _Ridiculous figure or not, I shouldn't underestimate her. If she didn't know how to fight, she wouldn't be here._

She glared coldly at me with eyes the color of the sky. The wind blew her long, loose hair, which hung in tight golden waves, over her shoulders. Finally, she brought her arms, which had been hidden from view by a couple of obstructing harpies, into sight. Gold gauntlets covered her forearms and ended with rounded blades over her hands and emitted cold blue energy. Short-range weapons; and I already know how it feels to be hit by one. We stared each other down, both unwilling to make the first move, both knowing that the only way the other would be satisfied was by the death of their opponent. Then I dropped like a stone.

I turned so that I was flying head-first at the water, using the drop to boost my speed tremendously, and then curving my flight path upward to move in behind her. I moved blindingly fast, and she had little time to react, although she managed to bring her guard up in time to deflect the stab that I had directed between her shoulder blades. _So her weapons double as shields, and she has the reflexes to use them as such. Duly noted._

She spun around to face me, swiping with one weapon at my chest. I evaded easily and struck out with a kick, hitting her hard in the stomach. She fell a short distance before recovering, and I followed, charging forward with both blades aimed at her chest. She turned and my blow landed on her shoulder instead, surprisingly not piercing through. _The body-suit is better armor than it initially appears to be._

Turning, she swooped at the ground and I followed as quickly as I could, bearing down on her mercilessly. We were only about six feet from the ground as I dove at her back with my sabers, but she turned and faced me, somehow avoiding the red-violet blades, caught me full in her arms, and spun around so that I would take the full brunt of the impact. I kicked in my boosters to soar upward and stop this from happening, but it was too late, and I only managed to soften the blow. Pulling my legs back, I got my knees beneath her and kicked out with my feet, sending her flying. She landed in front of one of my soldiers- Arcan. I did not recognize him at first, since his armor had been modified, the shoulder-pads more bulky, the chest-plate thicker and more protective, and he now fought with twin light-repeating pulsers- basically, an energy based machinegun. The trainee looked startled at first to see an enemy land at his feet, but recovered quickly and moved to fire his guns at her. She pulled her arms back over her head and did a back handspring, kicking Arcan in the face. He reeled back but kept his balance, and I sprinted forward to engage my enemy. Fefnir beat me to her, noticing the commotion and firing several rounds at the battle angel.

"Hey, need some help?" the scarlet Guardian grinned, splitting his buster into two and firing both massive guns in the general direction of the enemy. A few shots strayed dangerously close to one of our small transports.

"Watch what you're doing," I cautioned.

The angel warrior agilely dodged Fefnir's shots and leapt into the sky, disappearing into the myriad of airborne soldiers. I paused before I followed, assisting Fefnir in destroying some immediately surrounding enemies.

"Whoa, hot chick at twelve o-clock," Fefnir cried, spotting the winged warrior driving at us from straight ahead. He fired a charged shot from his cannon, engulfing her in flames. "_Really_ hot chick," he added.

Despite the chaos of battle around us, I still managed the chance to smack him on the back of the head. "You should be taken out and shot for that," I grunted tonelessly.

Fefnir only laughed, firing his guns in rapid succession, seeming to think that his bad pun was the funniest joke in the world.

I decided to leave my overly jovial friend to his own devices and fly after the female enemy I had been pursuing, who had recovered from the fire-buster shot. She was hovering above the field, whether giving orders or waiting for me to attack again, I was not sure. I flew at her, but not directly, curving around to soar underneath her, veering around from behind, avoiding her flock of harpies, and aiming to take her head off. My attack was interrupted as something- or some_one,_ more likely- slammed into the side of me and sent me uncontrollably into a flock of harpies and a couple of winged dogs. Several demi-dragons also joined the melee, and I only barely managed to see my latest attacker. This one was clad completely in white full-body armor trimmed with red-gold. A sharp, opalescent horn protruded from his forehead, from underneath which peered a pair of focused, determined blue-gray eyes. He had jets on his back quite similar in design to mine, with glossy white, mid-sized stationary wings attached the them to steady flight. He carried a two-handed broadsword that glowed with inner heat and occasionally spurted a small gout of flame from the heated metal. I had not seen someone use a real metal sword since Phantom had been with us.

The new assailant circled behind me- _based off- what? A pegacorn? -_and I realized that I was surrounded in a clump of harpies, dragons, and dogs, with a powerful enemy on either side. I decapitated two nearby harpies before they could cause a problem and kicked away a smaller demi-dragon. Both the male and female aerial warriors charged at me. _Crap._


	16. Chapter 16

I've been away a bit, I realize. I'm terribly sorry for that. Don't think this fic has died yet; I've just had a bout of... well, writer's block isn't it, since I have chapters written ahead... so we'll say, "author insecurity." Thank you so much to those of you who have encouraged me to keep going. You know who you are.

-Ri

Chapter 16

I glanced both ways at my enemies and shot forward after the white-armored male. He was apparently not expecting a frontal assault and veered off to the side, holding up his super-heated sword to parry the sloppy strike I threw at him. The angel was fast approaching from my rear, and without turning toward her, I kicked backwards and sent her flying.

"Who are you?" I growled, whirling into a powerful horizontal slash.

"I am Commander Chabaz Vesuvian, and I and Gloria lead this army." He parried and thrust at my ribs, but I was anticipating that and twisted my body to the side. _Gloria? Must be the battle-angel… how cliché. _I idly wondered what Fefnir was running into on the ground.

"Tell me; where is the reploid called Phase?" I snarled, sending an extra electrical charge into my blades and slashing downward before making a hard right to avoid the combined attack of two harpies. The energy from their wings missed me and came dangerously close to hitting Vesuvian, who growled an angry response to their carelessness.

"Girls, take care to stay out of Chabaz' way," Gloria called in a lilting voice, the first time she had spoken. The white-winged women half-shrugged and backed off and I sent a crescent of blade energy after their retreat.

The opal-horned reploid dove at me, shooting a beam of energy from his forehead. I moved aside, although it grazed my shoulder.

"Master Phase is wherever he wishes to be," Vesuvian said, his expression growing darker. _A bit of resentment there?_

"Give me a real answer," I ground threateningly as I threw a backhand swing and succeeded in gouging his chest armor. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Gloria's red-clad figure soaring at me, a harpy on either side of her. I allowed my body to become a conduit for electricity and sent a quick but fairly weak charge directed at the advancing three. The bolt slammed into the angel's chest and stopped her flight, although she recovered quickly. The pale women to either side of her stopped with her and began speaking, but I did not care to hear what was said, and had not the time anyway because a large demi-dragon was presently charging a large blast to fling my way. I roundhouse kicked its ebony, snarling face, and it fired in the opposite direction from me. Angered, it slashed at me with its glowing talons, scoring a gouge in my chest and forearm, but not penetrating the armor. I stabbed straight on with my left saber but it slid off the armor, which was not unforeseen. As I attacked, I allowed myself to fall closer and closer to the river, grateful that the demon was oblivious to its own fatal weakness. I circled around it, stabbing at the back of its neck, but it lashed at me with its tail. Instead of trying to control my plunge, I allowed myself to fall into the churning water, hoping that the beast would follow. I took my time getting back out and when I did, I hovered only a few feet from the boiling rapids. The monster followed up its attack with a smaller blast, which I avoided. The blue energy hit the water and created a mini-explosion upon contact.

Cerussite shot out of the water behind it and sliced upward with his claws, causing the beast to twist around and slash at its new attacker. As it did, Leviathan leapt out and plunged her lance into its chest, dragging it into the water with her. _One down_,I noted sardonically as Gloria and two harpies came at me from above. Suddenly, one of the harpies went down in a molten fireball, and I glanced over to the bank to see Fefnir flash a malicious grin.

The other harpy screeched in fury and alarm and moved as though to turn and charge at Fefnir, but Gloria barked a quick command and held up her hand, causing the vulture-woman to sulkily cease her quest for vengeance. From behind, I could feel the rush of wind as Vesuvian and a small number of winged dogs swept in at me. Several fell to Fefnir's buster fire, and I saw the horned commander send the two dragons after the red Guardian to distract him. _Nice job, Fefnir._ I was grateful that my crimson comrade was aware enough of his surroundings that he was keeping track of the aerial battle as well as the ground fighting.

Vesuvian charged at me, sword flaring with barely withheld flames. I turned away, spinning into a slash with my right saber. He caught the attack on his blade and pushed back, knocking me off balance and cutting a deep furrow through the armor on my forearm, biting into the flesh beneath. I ignored the blood coursing down my arm and stabbed with my left blade, penetrating through his chest-plate, although not very deeply.

"Chabaz!" I turned in time to see the red angel flying at me with the circular blades on her arms glowing. I managed to move my targeted neck out of the way, although the strike bit shallowly into my shoulder. She put herself between Vesuvian, unfurling her wings and flinging her arms wide, hurling both blades at me in the process and me. The glowing weapons whined through the air, and I leaned back away from one, taking a minor gash to the chest, and twisted away from the other, which missed completely. As they made their return trip to their owner's arms, I moved to the side and swatted one away with a saber. It sparked and fell, its homing mechanism damaged.

Gloria seethed at having one of her weapons taken away and flew at me with surprising speed, slashing my stomach deeply. I grunted in pain, but instead of going after her, I warily watched Vesuvian as he hovered before me, a small trickle of blood running from his chest. I could not be sure, but I thought that the opalescent, unicorn-like horn on his forehead was starting to glow. _He's going to shoot something at me, isn't he?_ Sure enough, a white laser erupted from his brow quicker than I could move, and penetrated through my right shoulder. Involuntarily, I cried out in pain, holding my left hand over the wound. My right arm was nearly useless, and I did not have to look at it to know that the circuitry and metallic bone deep beneath the skin and synthetic muscle was exposed. I had a sudden flashback of the first time I met Arcan, with his nearly-severed arm. _I wish I could be that indifferent to pain._ Blood poured down my back and chest, and I only barely managed to avoid Vesuvian's follow-up attack, and Gloria directly after that. _Great. Only one working arm, and I've got two commanders and their soldiers to deal with. This is decidedly ugly._

"Master Harpuia!" I heard a familiar voice call, and I looked up to see Aztec Falcon soaring toward me. He grabbed a harpy's head in his talons as he approached, crushing it and sending a gory shower of purple blood spraying through the air. He had taken some damage, but seemed to be okay as he moved to hover next to me. "You appear as though you require some assistance."

"Greatly appreciated," I nodded. _Okay, this should even the odds a bit._

"This oversized fowl won't be enough to save you, human sympathizer!" Gloria hissed, flinging her remaining blade at Falcon. He blocked it with one wing and suffered a small gouge in the reinforced metal.

"This entire army won't be enough to save you, succubus!" I spat back, holding my left saber in a ready position. Vesuvian hovered next to the female air warrior and readied another shot from his horn. I yelled a battle cry and charged at him, swinging upward. The strike missed, but I continued forward, ramming my working shoulder into his chin and sending him flying backwards. Falcon, who was now behind me, engaged the battle-angel, but I did not have time to see who had the upper hand.

A winged dog shot past me, gashing my already-wounded right arm with its bladed wing. It turned on me, jaws gaping, and attacked, aiming for my throat. I swung my saber as it came at me, dividing its face neatly in two. _Fast and strong… yet crude. More than a little outdated,_ I decided in reference to the four-legged robot. Two smaller demi-dragons then flew at me. _A bit more of a problem…_ One fired three quick energy blasts at me, and I did my best to dodge out of the way. My right shoulder was clipped, and the hit damaged the top of the booster. I kept my flight under control regardless, and intercepted the second dragon, which was soaring at me with extended claws. As it swiped at me, I retaliated with my beam-saber, cleanly chopping off its left hand. The other set of claws raked my ribs, although the wound was fairly shallow. I kicked the beast in the stomach, sending it backwards a few feet, creating a bit of distance for myself to maneuver.

I glanced over my shoulder, wanting to keep tabs on whatever Vesuvian was up to. I noticed that, yet again, he was preparing to shoot at me with his laser. I dodged to the side, and the white beam cut cleanly through the demi-dragon's eye and out the back of its head. It did not even bleed; it simply fell lifelessly to the ground far below. The first dragon was charging a larger blast to throw at me. I swerved out of range and flew at Vesuvian, slashing at him. He blocked the attack with his sword, but I followed up with a knee to his stomach, knocking him away.

"Master Harpuia-" I heard Falcon's warning and turned sharply to see Gloria charging toward me, attempting to strike at me with her arm blade. Falcon was struggling to go after her, but it appeared that one of his propulsion systems had been slightly damaged, making it hard for him to move quickly. My own booster was acting up, but it was nothing that I could not deal with.

I turned away from Vesuvian to engage the angel, bringing my saber up just in time to parry her thrust. I heard the rush of energy as the demi-dragon released its shot, and I grabbed her by the wrist and whipped her around into the path of the blast. It struck her back and she was thrown forward, and I moved aside to avoid having her crash into me. The demi-dragon roared in rage and came at me, lunging at my damaged right shoulder with its powerful jaws. I sent a crescent of energy hurdling towards its face, and it caught the attack across the snout. It cut into the monster's face, although not terribly deeply, and the demon was forced to break off its attack, being somewhat blinded by the hit.

Vesuvian flew at me again, ignoring the wounds on his chest, and brought his blade down on me in a massive over-hand swing. It bit deeply into my right shoulder, and I gasped in pain as the already-wounded limb went numb. _If this keeps up, I'm going to_ lose _my right arm._ He tried to stab me, but I moved away, heading back toward the ground and holding my shoulder. I was hoping that, if he followed me, I could gain the advantage on the ground, without the added threat of harpies and demi-dragons. I glanced over my shoulder, back at Falcon, hoping that he would be okay by himself. To my relief, Magnion was just arriving on the scene with a small contingent of air-based soldiers. Falcon nodded to me once, acknowledging my departure and letting me know that he would be all right. Vesuvian, as I had hoped, was pursuing me closely.

I did not bother to attempt a soft landing; I hit the ground and rolled, coming quickly back to my feet as the white reploid landed and stabbed his fiery blade into the ground where I had been. I used his momentary distraction to nail him in the chin with a solid kick. As he fell backwards, I slashed my blade, flicking it on and off, to fling the violet energy at him. He caught that on his sword and flung it away.

"Hiding on the ground now?" he questioned snidely. "Quite a cowardly act for the great 'Master' Harpuia of Neo-Arcadia. I thought the sky was your domain? Or are you admitting that the 'master of wind' is not you?"

I charged forward and stabbed him through the ribs. "In my experience, boasting is usually used to cover poor skills. It seems I was right." I ripped the saber out and moved to lop his head off, but he ducked under the swing, and although the wound in his side was deep, it seemed to affect him very little.

"Don't think you've won yet," he hissed. "It will take much more than that to bring _me_ down."

Suddenly, the reploid found himself engulfed in flames. "How 'bout that, then?" Fefnir remarked, taking aim with his arm cannon to fire again.

Vesuvian angrily cleared away the trails of flame with a few swishes of his sword, charred but relatively unscathed. "Pitiful," he muttered disdainfully.

While he was turned toward Fefnir, I charged electricity through my body and leapt to fly above him, releasing the energy into a powerful lightning bolt. The explosion was unexpected to him- Fefnir, too, apparently, as he stumbled away from the blast radius- and I landed in front of him to attack with my saber. To my surprise, he caught my arm as I swung and tried to stab me through the stomach. I pulled back on my captured limb and flipped him over my head, but he landed on his feet. _Well, electricity didn't work, either. I guess his armor is made to repel that type of attack._

_"Your efforts are laughable," he chortled, but was met quickly by Fefnir's fist to his face. _

"Laugh at that," the crimson guardian said smugly as Vesuvian picked himself up from the ground. Fefnir landed an elbow on the back of his shoulders, knocking him down again, and then glanced at me. "You should get that arm repaired. Having use of both limbs kinda helps-"

"Obviously," I muttered. "And how do you propose I do that in the middle of battle?"

He shrugged. "I dunno, I'm jes' sayin'…"

Vesuvian rolled to the side suddenly and swiped his sword over Fefnir's ankle. The clash of metal on metal created a resonating ring through the air and left a shallow scratch on the armor. "What the heck 'you doin'?" Fefnir wondered impatiently, as though talking to a disobedient child. I could tell that the white reploid was surprised that the blow had not knocked Fefnir down, but the muscular Guardian was about the most sure-footed person I knew.

Not one to be daunted, the pegacorn-based general continued his roll and leapt up with a thrust of his jets. As he came down, he brought a mighty over-hand strike down, aiming for Fefnir's head, but Fefnir turned suddenly, phasing out his buster, and caught the burning blade between his palms. _Looks like Phantom's lessons actually sank in, _I decided as the red Guardian yanked the sword out of Vesuvian's hands. I charged forward, intent on stabbing him while he could not parry. He ducked out of the way, grabbing my wounded right arm and twisting it painfully behind me.

"Armed or unarmed, never underestimate your opponent," he hissed at me with an expression that was half smile, half-mocking grin.

I managed a small, strangled exclamation of pain as my badly damaged limb was pulled at an unnatural angle behind me. Baring with the discomfort, I ducked and threw him over my shoulders yet again, immediately leaping after him to plunge a dagger through his head. He rolled to the side, and I buried my saber into the ground instead. Fefnir, who had disposed of Vesuvian's sword- I was fairly sure I spied it buried in an unfortunate reploid's neck- brought his gun to bear on the white-armored warrior. Instead of wasting effort firing on him when that seemed to accomplish little or nothing, he simply swung it with considerable force, throttling Vesuvian as one would flatten an insect.

"May I state that that's improper use of government property," I mumbled dryly. Vesuvian now seemed unlikely or unable to fight back- I was not sure which- and I moved in for the kill.

"Aw heck, _I'm_ government property," Fefnir commented sardonically, "and I take my share of abuse."

"Don't we all." As I moved toward Vesuvian, saber ready to strike, the red-clad battle-angel suddenly swooped in, knocking me away, and then grabbed Vesuvian, carrying him aloft. I was about to follow, but Fefnir's heavy hand on my left shoulder stopped me.

"If you let that arm get any worse, it's gonna fall off."

I was about to protest the exaggeration, but, glancing at my blood-covered limb, shuddered instead at the realization that it was not an exaggeration by much. "You know, they're not going to sit by kindly while we patch me up," I managed. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, and I'm X's grandma, Fefnir snapped back stoically. "I'll cover for you; just get something quick and superficial. I just don't wanna be the one to hear you whine if it falls off because you didn't do anything about it."

"Fefnir, who's gonna repair my arm in the middle of battle?" I questioned dryly. A demi-dragon swooped toward us, but Fefnir shot it a couple times and it hit the water with a massive splash.

"Hold on; I have just the guy." He flipped on his com, keyed in the correct frequency, and spoke loudly into it. "Hey Arcan. You know my position? Good. Get yer butt over here. And bring a med-kit."

"You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

Arcan did not take too long, and thankfully had the good sense to remain relatively silent- probably due to the dour expression that dominated my face the majority of the time. Five minutes passed as Fefnir rained heavy fire on anyone unfortunate enough to approach our position. _What are friends for?_ I thought dryly.

"How does it feel?" Arcan rotated my arm painfully, pulling it from side to side.

"Well, when you do that, it hurts like a-"

"Heads up!" Fefnir interrupted, firing a fully charged shot into the air. Three steel-blue winged dogs circled overhead. One turned its snarling face toward us and belched a column of fire. Arcan dove out of the way, muttering a sharp exclamation, which was lost in the roar of the flames. Rolling and coming to his feet, he drew the two light-repeating pulsers that were holstered to his hips and fired the energy-based machineguns at the oncoming foes. I mentally gave the soldier a hair more respect at his improved skills. _New weapons and armor don't hurt, either._

My arm was now stiff and sore, but functioning, and I summoned my sabers and leapt to the air before remembering that one of my boosters was slightly damaged. I overcompensated as I turned toward the leader of the pack, and he flew into me, gnashing his teeth at my face. I yelled and stabbed him through the eye, ripping my saber out none-too-carefully as blue blood spouted into the air and the dog dropped like a stone.

The second dog went down under Arcan's gunfire, and the third made it as far as landing before the combined efforts of Fefnir's charged shot and a bolt of electricity from me overkilled it. I landed next to our handiwork, sabers ready and held at my sides. "Fefnir, I want your men to try to take down some of those walking tanks; I don't know what they intend to use them for, but I have a few guesses, and none of those options are favorable."

"On it!" he barked. "Arcan, let's move!" I turned away from the red and dark green figures, scanning the nearby area for problems. An ATV came hurtling at me, firing bursts of chain gun fire. Fortunately, either driver or gun was quite inaccurate, and I jumped out of the way without taking a hit. Performing a forward flip in the air with the slight help of my turbines, I landed on the four-wheeler behind him, back to back. He reached for a side arm, but I reached backwards with a saber, cleaving his hand at the wrist. He screamed in pain, utterly enraged at my sudden attack, and I used his momentary distraction to shove him sideways off the vehicle, turning myself around to take the controls. I yanked the handlebars sharply to avoid crashing into a tank and lay down heavy fire with the chain guns. The bullets tore through several ranks of enemy soldiers and pelted the armored, lizard-like beast of burden along the left flank. It reared its head, emitting a rumbling groan that seemed to shake the earth.

As I swerved away from a massive, gray-plated leg, I felt two sets of claws digging into my back and shoulders- especially painful on my right shoulder, which sported a superficial repair job at best. I was lifted from the ATV before I knew what was going on and it flew driverless into the wall of the canyon, the impact crunching the front of the vehicle. After a brief moment, it burst into flames, and I knew it would not be long before it exploded. The talons on my shoulders tightened and I activated my boosters at full power, ripping myself out of their grasp, although I suffered a few shallow gashes from their claws for my troubles. I turned and faced the harpies, only to discover that they were not alone.

Gloria flung her blade at me as I turned, and I barely moved aside, suffering a nasty slash on my stomach. _All these minor wounds are going to add up if I'm not careful. _I flew head-on at the winged warrior, feinting with my stiff right arm, but pressing the attack with my left once I was close enough to strike. She moved to block the feint, and I scored a direct hit, stabbing her through the stomach. She gasped in pain, clutching the wound and calling an order to the harpies that I could not quite hear. Three of them dove at me, all fanning their wings and sending electrical charges at me. Fortunately, as before, it did no real damage and simply felt rather unpleasant. Gloria, though wounded, did not seem particularly handicapped by the puncture and attacked from above, driving down at my skull. I reached for the nearest harpy, managing to entangle my fist in her matted hair, and yanked her in front of me. She took the blade to her throat with a small near-explosion of dark blood. The other two harpies shrieked in anger and the battle-angel cursed at me, drawing back like a serpent to strike again, but not broadcasting where or when. I charged in at her at an odd angle, ending with my back being turned to her, and threw a backhand strike at her torso. She twisted to one side, but I turned as well, also shooting up a couple of feet with my boosters, and brought one elbow down to crash into her head. The blow was apparently not unexpected, but my speed outmatched hers and she could do nothing to avoid it. Instead, she fell with the attack, allowing herself to turn and plummet face-first with her wings folded, unfurling them about twenty feet beneath me to loop and soar back upward again.

While the larger threat was temporarily out of the way, I turned my attention to her two remaining white-feathered minions who were attempting an attack from two sides. The first plunged at me talons-first to tear at my left flank while the other swooped at me and then suddenly broke off her attack, dropping straight down for approximately ten feet before I lost track of her in favor of keeping the first female avian from ripping the flesh from my body. One grasping claw got in the way of my saber and I easily hacked it off, the grisly shape spinning through the air and out of sight in the melee below. She emitted a sound that was somewhere between a hiss and a squawk as she drew her other leg away. I suddenly remembered the other harpy and looked down in time to see her flying straight up at me from below. With a swift motion, I attempted to plunge a dagger through her forehead, but my plan was thwarted when she darted to the side, flew up past my right thigh, and left a nice gouge in the lesser-armored portion of my leg with her talon-like fingers that jutted from the joint of the wing.

Since she flew past me, I directed most of my attention to the one that was still close, lashing out with a foot to catch her in the chest right between the breasts. There was enough force behind the blow to actually dent the metallic breast-bone, and when she screeched in protest, it was weak, as though she had trouble drawing breath. I quickly plunged one sword into her forehead, causing her to die instantly, a vacant look in her eyes as she slid off the blade and fell to eventually land in the river. The other feathered woman, upon seeing the death of her other companion and realizing that she, too, and no chance, let out her shrill, piercing scream. My ears rang, even though I covered them, and I struggled to keep my mind lucid against the splitting migraine that ensued.

I tried to keep my eyes open, but it did no good, since my vision was flashing. _This particular frequency really manages to mess with my optical sensors._ Something struck me from above, and I assumed that it was a harpy, but through the haze of my headache I realized that it was Gloria again. Her blow landed on my already-throbbing head but failed to penetrate the helmet. At least, I thought it had failed until I felt a trickle of blood run from somewhere under my hair down my forehead and over my nose. As the harpy-induced headache faded, I saw the white winged menace fall helplessly to the ground, her face expressionless. _Serves you right; you fried your own brain._ I turned my attention completely to the blood-red angel, my head now hurting from the blow she had dealt me. She slashed again, and this time, I managed to block the swing with one saber and thrust with my other weapon, although she edged out of the way before the strike connected.

"You won't win this," she ground, although her expression held the smallest amount of desperation. "Even if you kill me, there will be others."

"Others like Phase?" I shot back. "What do you now about him? What do you people want?"

At the mention of Phase's name, her face twisted minusculey in contempt, but instead of addressing the subject of the ghostly reploid, she said, "What we want is your downfall, if that isn't obvious."

"It is," I muttered, kicking upward to catch her in the stomach. She moved, and my foot connected with the side of her ribcage with a crack, and a bit of blood pulsed from her wounded abdomen, splattering red droplets onto my armor. She spat blood and flew at me again, striking with a downward slash which I blocked easily. "You can't succeed, you know," I growled. "Neo-Arcadia will never go down that easily, and never to the likes of you."

She laughed hoarsely, blood trailing down her chin. "Oh, don't worry; this little scouting force was never meant to take you down." She followed her words with a thrust with her left arm, but it came from her right side awkwardly. I tried to block it, but anticipated the wrong direction and ended up catching it across my left forearm. No serious damage, but having both arms wounded would make the rest of the battle extremely difficult, so I drew back quickly, noting that, although the armor now sported a hefty scratch, my arm beneath did not seem to be wounded badly. Thus satisfied, I stabbed with my right blade, though that arm was stiff and some of the swift reflex was gone. She was not expecting the attack and took it in the chest, eyes widening in shock and pain.

"If this little 'scouting force' was never meant to prevail, then it never should have been sent," I hissed. "Neo-Arcadia does not play games, and we don't waste time in destroying our enemies." She opened her mouth to protest, but I yanked the blade upward, splitting her open from the chest up. The defeated shell that was once a reploid fell from my saber in a shower of crimson blood and I turned away, ready to deal with any new threat that may have been coming my way.

"Master!" Falcon called, coming up beside me, bloodied but not beaten.

"Falcon… how goes the battle?" I inquired, scanning a keen eye over the mass of soldiers.

"It seems that we are slowly prevailing, although it is hard to tell if they are retreating or not, since they were already on the move from the start. Magnion and I have succeeded in leading a group of aerial soldiers to wipe out much of their air force."

"Good. Keep cleaning up. I am going back to the ground battle to give Fefnir a hand if he needs it, or possibly to aid Leviathan in the water."

He nodded once and was off, and I did as I had said I would and dropped to the land below, barely even bothering to soften my landing with my boosters. Two ATVs were heading toward me at high speed; I jumped over the nearest, managing to clothesline the driver with a blade, decapitating the reploid cleanly. The vehicle swerved out of control into the one next to it, causing it to flip. I ran past the mess, pausing after I had passed it to slice an enemy soldier in half at the waist. I scanned the crowd, hoping to spot Fefnir's red bulk nearby, but had no luck. The fighting was still intense on the ground, and finding a single individual-even one so prominent as the person in question- was a difficult task.

One of the remaining demi-dragons- a large one- swooped down and grabbed one of my men in its talons, tossing him into the air and grabbing him in its powerful jaws, crushing him into an unrecognizable bloody mess. It dove for another soldier, but I, barely bothering to aim, hurled a saber end-over-end at him, embedding it in the open mouth. It screamed and dove at me instead, but could not remove the weapon. Unfortunately, it seemed to have missed its electronic brain, since it was still very much alive. _Great. So that means I'm down one saber. _I charged to meet it head-on, juking just to the left of it before impact and yanking on the protruding hilt of my saber, retrieving the weapon before it could clamp its teeth down on my hand.

_If I get it to the water, we'll make short work of it._ It tried to charge a blast of energy to fire at me, but the blue power simply crackled around its jaw and dissipated. _At least I damaged it,_ I thought with satisfaction. It roared in anger, realizing what had happened, and flew at me again- right in the direction I was hoping it would go. I flew away from it, but not as quickly as I could have, tempting it to chase after me, but not obviously. Once well over the water, I hovered only a few feet from the surface and awaited its advance. It hesitated slightly, intelligent enough not to underestimate me, but not quite ready to back off. Without the use of its jaw-cannon, it had no choice but to use close-quarters combat- exactly what I was hoping for. Finally, it continued its charge with an incensed keen, claws hooked and ready to slice, although I had other plans. Unfortunately, so did the demon; instead of attacking with its talons, it spun and smacked me with its tail. The blow caught me in the head- more specifically, on one of the fins on my helmet. I could have almost swore that the solid strike had bent it.

Although the hit naturally knocked me back a little bit, I allowed myself to fall into the swiftly moving water, hoping that the beast would follow. Unfortunately, it seemed more content with waiting for me to attempt to rise again.

To my surprise, it spoke, though in a rather gurgling voice that was hard to discern. "I am not as ignorant as my brethren, Green One," it hissed between gleaming teeth.

_What's with the dragons and this "Green One" thing? Oh, yeah, since they sort of have a hive mind, it would remember what the others have called me before. Wait… if they really have a hive mind, then- _My thought came too late as another, although notably smaller, demi-dragon struck me from behind. Its claws penetrated my back and drove me under the water before the creature retreated from its liquid bane and left me to struggle back to the surface and go after it. My damaged booster choked as water got into the circuitry, and my flight out was a little shaky at best, but I managed. _No one wound I've sustained in this battle has been overly serious, but little by little, I'm being taken apart piece by piece. _I steadied myself and waited for a dragon to make its move. The smaller one charged and fired three successive shots at me, and while I dodged, the larger beast flew at me with the intent to impale me with its claws. I moved aside and swung a blade at its wing joint, hoping to impede its flight and send it falling into the water. To my dismay, it caught my arm, digging in with its talons, and flung me into the water instead. As I tried to resurface, something caught hold of my leg and pulled me deeper…


	17. Chapter 17

Author's note: Hello, readers, and sorry it took so long to update. Rest assured, although it may take some time, I will finish this fanfic, and probably write many more in the future. Thank you for being so patient. One more little thing; I have a deviantart account with some artwork pertaining to the fic. The link is in my bio for anyone interested. Thanks for your time!

-Ri

Chapter 17

"Leviathan, don't ever startle me like that again!" At least, that is what I intended to come out. What actually did was a stream of bubbles and a rather warbled, indiscernible noise. I think she got the point, anyway.

"Take me up with you," she instructed, although I could tell that there was glee behind her eyes at surprising me the way she had. Regardless, I nodded, having a fair idea of what she was going to do. Kicking toward the surface while grasping Leviathan's wrist, I leapt from the rapids, activating my boosters, and tossed my comrade at the black bulk of the larger demi-dragon. She sliced it cleanly in half with an impressive sweep, turning on her ark downward to dive gracefully back into the water. The smaller demon took two wing-sweeps toward me and tried to gash me with its claws. I not only parried, but also sliced off its right hand in the process. While it flailed its severed limb, spraying me with blood, I relieved it of its head- which sent out a much larger gout of blood, splattering my face. I turned to fly back to the battlefield, but first spied Leviathan treading water below me.

"Harpuia, the river's been cleared. If you're going to help Fefnir, let me come, too."

I nodded and hauled her out by her wrist. "Contact him and find his position. I didn't have a chance to before, and I couldn't find him."

She was already working on that when I dropped her on dry land and landed beside her. "Any luck?"

"Hold on," she answered, shushing me with a quick gesture of her hand.

Fefnir's voice crackled over the com. "What?" he barked sharply. "I'm a little busy over here..."

"Fefnir, where are you?" Leviathan responded, ignoring his petulant tone. A burst of static cut off his answer.

"What? I didn't read. Repeat coordinates." Leviathan appeared mildly concerned, but successfully held a professional tone of voice.

"I said just look for an explosion, and that will probably be my doing. Over and out."

"Fefnir, wait! Fefnir!" Leviathan angrily slapped off the com. "That prick; can't he just give us the coordinates and wait a minute? Why's he- hey!"

I grabbed her wrist again and soared about twenty feet upward. "He said 'look for an explosion.' So be quiet and keep your eyes open." I was in no mood for Leviathan's griping at the moment, and figured that there was some reason that he had not sent coordinates, anyway. _He probably didn't have time to check them. It sounded like he was in the thick of things._

A small series of explosions lit up the far side of the battlefield. _Yep, that would probably be him._

A quick flight in that direction confirmed my suspicion, as I spotted Fefnir, Arcan, and several other Jin'en soldiers I did not know or recognize fending off fierce attacks. This was the first time I had had a chance to really look at the attacking ground mavericks, other than ATVs and massive, lizard-like tanks. They were incredibly varied, made up of mutos and humanoids in what seemed to be equal number. Some appeared not to have been created for battle, and some to have not been created for anything else. I also noticed that there were plenty of female soldiers interspersed with the male. _Not too many women in the Neo Arcadian forces. Not sure why that is, exactly, but apparently, they're ready and willing to fight here._

I back-flipped over a charging lizard-like reploid with blades on his hands and elbows. His metallic hide was yellow, edged with a deep sunset orange- the same color as his slit-pupiled eyes. A series of violet spikes protruded from his back.

"What do you mavericks want?" I growled.

"Peace for reploids... and death for humans." He spun into a lazy slash at me, but a small fireball from Fefnir knocked him aside.

"Come t' help take out the trash?" the scarlet Guardian questioned sardonically as I stabbed into the downed lizard's chest, exposing severed circuitry.

"Thought you could use some help cleaning up," I shrugged.

Leviathan, holding her bloodied spear, came up beside me. "Besides, if you were to make a fool of yourself... well, I'd wanna be here to see it."

Fefnir gave me a look that screamed, "Please, can I shoot her?" but otherwise ignored the blue-clad woman. "Well, I've got things under control here," he shrugged out loud, "but the help's always appreciated."

I nodded in response as Kuwagust Anchus hurried up. Kuwagust, the younger of the Anchus brothers, was one of my few soldiers in the Rekku forces who was not completely adept at aerial fighting. Ground-based attacks were not quite his specialty either, but instead, he used an odd combination of the two, soaring close to the ground on his low-powered boosters and attacking mainly with his large "mandibles." He was a cerulean, beetle-like mutos reploid who was a competent fighter and a good soldier, but at times a bit too willing to start what he could no finish. His brother, Herculeous, was still in reconstruction thanks to Zero.

"Sir," he addressed me, the voice coming from his vocal receptors oddly different and much clearer than one would expect from an individual of his appearance.

"What is it, Kuwagust?" I answered curtly and more than a little distracted. A black and violet female catlike reploid with an energy whip of sorts lashed out at me, catching one of my sabers with her weapon. She tried to jerk it out of my hand, but instead I let the pull yank me closer, where I stabbed her stomach with a blade and then proceeded to divide her at the torso.

"We have discovered the entrance to the cave network from which they are coming. It seems that some yet remain inside. Your orders, sir?"

I thought a moment- while dismembering a red-armored humanoid who had been trying to stab me with a pole arm. "Take about a dozen or so of your best men and move into the caves. Perhaps you will discover a weapon stash before they have a chance to use it." A black and yellow snake struck at me barbarically with his teeth. I took off his head in clean slice. "But exercise caution; they may resort to unforeseen tactics, or even be willing to collapse part of the tunnels on you. I don't think that sacrificing their own men-" A female humanoid in black armor leapt at me agilely, but I smashed my shoulder into her stomach and flipped her over to land behind me. "Or women," I concluded.

"Yes, sir!" The insectoid reploid managed an odd sort of salute and sped off, flying low and fast over the ground.

The black-clad woman I had thrown rose behind me and pulled a katana from the sheath at her side. "Care to die?" she hissed in a deadly voice.

"Naw, but thanks for the offer!" Fefnir suddenly appeared out of the fray, and with a fully charged buster shot, completely took off her head.

_People and their stupid comments, _I thought wryly to myself, although in regards to Fefnir or the now-deceased reploid, I really was not sure. "Nice shot," I commented to Fefnir who was now close by, searching for a good new target for his weapon.

"Aw, she got in the way. I was aiming for the one behind her."

"Right." A green, deer-like maverick with twin blades on each arm sprinted past, moving so quickly that she managed to score a deep gash on Fefnir's lower chest.

"Whoa, fast li'l bugger," he grunted, stepping back a moment too late. The clean slash did not even spurt blood until a second after she had passed, but if anything, the wound only incensed Fefnir to fight harder. The maverick ran past again, but this time we both avoided her and I inflicted a gash of my own on her lithe form.

Fefnir blasted several shots at her, all barely missing. I thought I heard him curse, but the raging battle was loud enough that I was not sure. The gazelle made a final charge- but was concentrating so hard on the two of us that she never saw Leviathan hold out her spear to skewer the light-green maverick. Having utterly impaled herself, she slid to the ground as Leviathan shook the body off her spear.

"That was supposed to be _my _kill," Fefnir griped.

Leviathan shrugged. "Well, I don't think it matters to her; she's dead just the same."

Fefnir fired a quick burst from his gun, aimed over her shoulder, nailing a green maverick- which was in a form that I had trouble identifying with an animal- in the head. Leviathan ducked away and moved to stand behind Fefnir. "I _really _don't trust you with that thing."

"What, you think my aim's that bad?" He fired off several more scattered shots, which were not particularly directed at anything but all hit targets just the same.

"No..." Leviathan swiped at a nearby maverick but he danced backward away from her blade. "Your aim is fine; I'm not contesting that." She grinned knowingly. "It's who you're aiming _at _that worries me."

"Oh, yeah, Fairy; I'd really shoot you. 'Cause, y'know, I hate you so much..." He rolled his eyes but grinned.

"Yeah, I hate you too..." She smiled sweetly as she severed a light blue reploid's arm.

_What... odd... companions I have, _I thought distractedly. _How do they keep up such idle banter in the middle of battle... without getting themselves killed? _One of the few remaining harpies dove at me and I tried and failed to slash one of her taloned feet from her body. She circled, screamed, and beat her wings hard through the air to engulf Fefnir and Leviathan with violet bolts of electricity.

"Ah, friggin'- that stings, you little whore!" Fefnir turned around, seemingly unaffected by the attack besides a look of discomfort on his face, and swatted the avian female from the air, using his cannon as a melee weapon. When the beastly woman hit the ground, Leviathan and I were already on it, she impaling its chest and I stabbing its neck to ensure that there would be no excruciating death scream.

Fefnir brushed at his shoulder pad as though to brush away the stray charges of electricity. "Works havoc on th' systems, y'know?"

"No... I don't know," I answered ironically, nimbly moving to the side as a large, heavily muscled humanoid burst from the crowd and attempted to punch me with a tightly clenched fist.

"Hm. You wouldn't," Fefnir muttered in defeat, turning on the new attacker. "Heh... this could be fun." With a flash, his arm cannon vanished and he charged the silver reploid, drawing back his right fist to throw a punch.

"Quit goofing around," I reprimanded sourly, avoiding gunfire by quickly moving from one place to the next.

"I can take 'em; watch!" Fefnir grinned gleefully.

"We _know _you can take him," Leviathan grumbled, "but now _really _isn't the time."

Fefnir's only acknowledgement to her chiding was a tight, rebellious grin as he threw his considerable strength behind the punch that was aimed for the reploid's head. Unfortunately for him (and even more so for the silver-armored reploid) there was no head remaining for the blow to connect with. I stood behind the fallen maverick with one dagger still positioned where it had been when it had severed the neck.

"Whad'ja go an' do that for!" Fefnir cried indignantly. I graced him with a rare smile, and then ducked as I felt a presence fast approaching behind me. The unidentified reploid ran into my back and I used his own momentum to hurl him over my head toward Fefnir.

"Catch," I said simply, figuring now was his chance to land a solid blow. He swung and connected with the reploid's- a humanoid female if I had to venture a guess- head, sending her flying back to land at my feet. She struggled to get up slowly, but I dispatched her with a clean, decisive stab before she could accomplish the task.

Leviathan, breathing hard and blood-smattered, appeared next to me. "Well, what now? This is a little wearing, but if it's all they've got to throw at us, then they'll have to run out of resources pretty quickly."

I nodded quickly. "I agree; it was mentioned by one of the commanders that I battled that this was merely a 'scouting force.' I'm not sure how much I believe that, but it's certainly not an army equipped to take us down."

"That's what worries me," Fefnir pointed out, firing rapidly into the fighting, barely aiming. "What were they doing out here? Waiting for more? And where would 'more' come from? Heck, where did _they _even come from?"

"I only wish I knew," I muttered, and then leapt over the head of a charging reploid, coming down behind it with my back to it and slashing with an over-the-shoulder swing. I snapped my gaze up to the enemy line, which was moving forward in a new wave, intent to crush the three of us by shear numbers.

"They're hittin' us hard," Fefnir growled while shooting, backing up until he was next to me. "We're gonna have to do something drastic to hold them off."

"What do you have in mind?" I managed, and then dodged aside as a gunman sporting a souped-up plasma cannon pelted us with high-powered shots. I managed to avoid being struck by the yellow-white energy, but it did blast a crater at my feet and send me flying backwards into Leviathan. I used the backward momentum to continue my roll off her, kicking my heels over my head and hopping to my feet. The azure Guardian got her feet beneath her and leapt away from the spot as another red-violet reploid- humanoid, but covered in full armor and possessing a long, sinuous lizard-like tail- crashed down, burying an energy-charged fist- that had been intended for Leviathan's head- into the ground.

Fefnir turned and fired on the attacker, causing it to fall back. He then picked it up with his free arm and tossed it into the air, striking it with his buster like a child playing with a baseball and bat.

"We need to think of something, or they're going to overwhelm us," Leviathan hissed. She looked to Fefnir, who often seemed to display the most tactical genius of the group. Battle- particularly ground assault- was his specialty, and if he could not come up with a decent strategy, chances were no one could.

Fefnir cast about quickly for something to aid him in making a plan as I struck at the lizard-tailed reploid and managed to score a deep gash on his arm. "There's not much more to work with here," he muttered darkly, and I grunted in agreement. The battle was raging full-force, and every resource was in use. Even if we did have a strategy, it would have been next to impossible to pull our men together and execute it.

"I'm at a loss myself." The human-lizard reploid ran at me, fists glowing with energy. I leaned my upper body backwards to avoid the attack, my hands making contact with the ground. I finished it with a backward handspring to get back to my feet, and snapped a kick into the face of the red-violet reploid as it made another pass. The masked head flew back, and it stumbled, recovering its balance, and then jumped over my head to such a height that I knew that the thick, powerful legs were not going to waste.

"That guy... or girl... or whatever doesn't give up easy, does it?" Fefnir exclaimed, shooting a couple of uncharged cannon blasts at my nemesis before whirling to shoot at several more enemy soldiers who were converging on him.

Leviathan stabbed her harpoon through the odd reploid's head, scowling before yanking it out again. "Let's see it come back from _that."_ She glanced at Fefnir, concern flickering in her eyes for an instant. "Anyway, if you're going to think of something, about now would be _ideal."_

"I'm _workin' _on it!" Fefnir charged a blast and fired into the horde of enemies, sending several flying into the air. His wandering gaze turned upward and fell upon the namesake of the canyon- the precariously balanced Pinnacle Rock. "I got it," he cried confidently, and I turned to look at whatever he had seen.

"You can't be thinking of..." I began in disbelief.

"Taking it down," the crimson warlord finished for me, managing a slight smile.

"You're crazy," Leviathan muttered.

"Yeah... But that's why you love me," he winked, shoving aside enemy soldiers and making his way nearer his goal.

"Fefnir," I called into my com, since he was now a little too far away to yell to, and I was busy with my own battles. "What do you need me to do?"

"Call your men outta there," he answered sharply, and I quickly switched frequency to broadcast to the entirety of the Neo Arcadian forces.

"All troops in the western end of the canyon, under Pinnacle Rock, evacuate the area immediately. I repeat, all-" I was cut off by a shrill burst of static. _Blast. They tracked our signal and jammed it. I hope the message got through. _I put away the now-useless com unit and moved to the side as a harpy and a demi-dragon both swooped at me with their talons extended. The harpy started to send charges of violet electricity from her wings, but Leviathan smacked it from the sky with her javelin and hacked quickly through its neck. I could see that the dry air was sapping some of the cold strength from her blade.

"What just happened, Harpuia?" she queried, cautiously watching around herself to make certain that there was no oncoming attack. "Not that you looked particularly happy before, but now you just look like you've been kicked in the nuts."

I grimaced. "If _that _had happened, I assure you that my expression would probably be a lot worse..." I dove forward as the dark dragon behind me charged, but one clawed hand struck my head, pitching me sideways, and for a second, I wondered if I had broken off one of the fins on my helmet. I landed next to Leviathan and quickly struggled to my feet. "Anyway, they just started jamming our frequency. Someone must have locked on to it while I was issuing orders."

She hissed between her teeth. "That's bad..." She looked up at the demi-dragon, who was charging a blast of energy to fire at us. "And so's _that." _She dove out of the way, while I risked a bit more of my low supply of fuel to fly over it and slice at it with a dagger. The strike took off one of its horns and gashed the side of its face down to its shoulder, although I did not manage to kill it. My boosters coughed once and I quickly set myself down before I ran them dry.

Leviathan sprinted in and slashed her pole-arm at the monster, which recoiled its head and then lashed out at her with its sharp teeth. She stabbed into its mouth, shoving the blade through the back of the skull, and yanking upwards to split it, rather than simply pull the spear back out.

I took a short moment to gaze up at Pinnacle Rock; a towering mass of stone precariously balanced atop the canyon wall by forces of nature that were long since absent here. _Is he really going to bring it down? With what? _I forced my attention away, back to the fight, and my body moved with a sort of mechanical, unfeeling reflex as I cut one warrior in half, parried a blade-wielder, ducked away from a gunman and then disarmed him... Meanwhile, my mind was elsewhere, still tracing Fefnir's crazy plan. _So crazy, it just might work. _It would take out a large chunk of enemy soldiers in one sweep, but it would likewise massacre my men if they had not received my last order.

My mind finally settled on a decision, fool-hearty as it may have seemed, and, sweeping the path before me clean with a few crescents of energy, I started off at a dead run- right for the shadow of Pinnacle Rock. It fell over the canyon floor as though to mark its targets. All it would take was a disturbance to make her fall...

I caught the first of my soldiers unawares, scuffing the side of my foot into the ground to come to a quick halt. He was firing at two enemies who were charging him mercilessly, and started when he saw me suddenly next to him. "M-Master Harpuia! Sir!"

"Hasufel," I acknowledged, recognizing the blond reploid. _He's in my air forces. If his jetpack still has fuel, perhaps he can better aid me in evacuating the area. _"Why are you on the ground? Can you still fly?"

"I was-" He paused, using an energy shield to stop the punch of a heavy-armed reploid. I roundhouse-kicked the foe in the face and sent him sprawling. Hasufel finished the job with his plasma rifle. "-Conserving fuel, sir," he finished, trying to manage an awkward salute.

"Forget formalities, I said quickly. "Have you enough fuel to help deliver an order to the men on the west side? The com-links are down."

He nodded. "I'll do my best. What's the order?"

"Get them out of here. Fefnir's trying to bring down Pinnacle Rock."

His eyes widened slightly. "Sir," he nodded, and was away just as quickly as his boosters could carry him. I sprinted in the other direction, slashing any enemy in my range with my sabers as I went, calling the command to move out to any Neo Arcadian soldiers that I saw, although, since I did not want to alert our enemies of our plans, I did not tell them _why _they were to move out. To my relief, there actually were not as many of my men in the area as I had thought; they had gotten the message, and many were retreating from their positions as I approached. That they had immediately followed my orders without question nearly made me sigh with relief. _It's about time _something _went right._

I squinted up at the towering stone one last time, only to see an explosion rock the base of it. It tipped slowly, and for a moment, it seemed that it would fall in the wrong direction. Then it tipped slowly back, and I assumed that Fefnir was probably shooting his cannon at it in rapid fire to give it the proper leverage. The shadow slowly shifted, and I took that as my cue to run. I sprinted past confused enemy soldiers, and seeing none of my own, kept the warning of impending doom completely to myself. None of them saw it coming until it was entirely too late.

With a tremendous groan, Pinnacle Rock tilted forward and fell almost lazily into the canyon blow. I barely made it away in time, as did a few lucky enemies. Several were not as lucky as I dispatched them while they stared in stunned disbelief at the scene that had unfolded. The monstrous bolder landed with a resounding crash like a clap of thunder, shaking the ground and knocking those nearby- including myself- to the ground. Dust and dirt kicked up around it and showered us with grime. I spat grit from my mouth distastefully and quickly struggled to my feet. Shooting one more glance up at Pinnacle Rock's former resting place, I caught sight of Fefnir waving jauntily to all who were watching. A few laser blasts _pinged _around him, but he turned and strode away out of sight, back down the long climb to the valley below. _Nice going, Fefnir. _And for once, there was no sarcasm to that thought.

It did not take me long to find Leviathan again. She was battling with a white maverick who reminded me of a cicada. I ran up behind him and sliced off both his arms at the shoulders. She finished off the reploid and moved to my side, taking a swing at a passing harpy. "I can't believe Fefnir's plan worked- but I mean that in a good way, of course."

"Of course," I acceded, and continued to fight in silence. Our foes seemed disheartened thanks to Fefnir's victory, and they were definitely starting to thin out. It was not long before the red-clad Guardian appeared nearby, fighting his way over to us.

"That'll give 'em somethin' to think about for awhile," he said in greeting, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. His expression twisted slightly in concern, and after fending off another attack, he questioned, "You _did _manage to get all our guys out of there, didn't you?"

"To my best knowledge, yes, despite the fact that we're now being jammed." A parry. A thrust. Another maverick dead.

Fefnir winced slightly. "That's definitely going in my book of 'not good.'"

This earned him a withering glare from Leviathan. "Do you sound like an idiot on purpose, or is it a natural talent?"

"Completely natural," he grinned as he shot a reploid before it could shoot Leviathan. "But seriously; these guys look pretty rag-tag. They didn't come off an assembly line, that's for sure. I've never seen an army that looks so disorganized- but they mean business." He planted a solid kick into a shorter reploid's kneecap, bringing him down. "Any thoughts on your end?"

Leviathan intercepted a smallish mutos reploid that slightly resembled a wingless, golden-orange dragon. She swung her spear at it, and it tried to bite the shaft. Before it could clamp down, she planted a solid kick into its stomach. It recovered quickly and leapt with surprising height, landing on her and knocking her back- and promptly dying, since it had gone through the business end of her harpoon to get there. "I haven't noticed any common insignia or anything," she answered Fefnir as if nothing had happened. "In fact I-" She was cut off as a sharp blade penetrated into her back and lifted her into the air, throwing her at Fefnir and me.

"Leviathan!" Fefnir caught his wounded comrade and steadied her to help her stand.

"...Ow..." The blue-clad reploid scowled, gripped her harpoon tighter, and turned toward the enemy that had attacked her, which I was already going after. Its design was that of several creatures cobbled together, the most prominent features being a lion-like head and a wicked scorpion tail tipped with a stinger-like blade- which was slick and red with Leviathan's blood. _A manticore. When will the fun ever end? _The creature reared and tried to come down on me with metal-bladed claws, but I ducked and slid under it, grabbing its segmented tail once I was on the ground behind it and using it to swing up onto its back. Once there, I attempted to stab the back of its neck with a saber, but it swung its curved tail at me, and I was forced to retreat to avoid being gored the way Leviathan had. I leapt away, tempted to use my boosters, but since my fuel was precariously low I refrained. I landed near Fefnir, who was pointing his gun at the monster but not firing.

"Th' things seem to be heat proof," he informed me, growling slightly under his breath. "My arm cannons aren't much good."

"Things? There's more?" I twitched my left eyebrow up to accentuate my inquiry.

"Plenty more. Been fightin' 'em off a good share of the battle."

"Great." I flung a crescent of energy at the lion-headed beast, testing out what sort of damage it would do. It left a smoking scar on its flank, but the beast did not seem handicapped by it.

"Heat resistant..." Leviathan panted beside me, holding a hand at her bleeding back. "Why don't we just see how impact-proof they are?" She threw her lance like a javelin, impaling it through the ribs. It turned and started after us, but stumbled, its back legs malfunctioning from the severed circuitry.

"Payback," Leviathan muttered softly. I glanced at her to see her struggling to stay up. I put a steadying hand on her shoulder, but Fefnir caught her around the waist so that she did not fall to her knees.

"Whoa, what's wrong, Fairy? The wound wasn't that bad, was it?" He looked as though he was trying to hide some concern but failing just a bit.

"I'm... fine..." she answered, trying to infuse her voice with a strength that she did not feel. "But I think... that stinger injected me with something... like a sedative or something. I could tell that she was fighting the affects and lasting longer than most reploids would have, but it was only a matter of time.

"Harpuia, finish that thing for me," Fefnir grunted, giving the unintelligent robot a deadly glare. I complied with some satisfaction, pulling Leviathan's harpoon from its side and using the unfamiliar weapon to bring down a crushing blow on its back, severing the metallic spine. It went down in a heap, and I stabbed downward into the back of its skull, splattering myself with blue-gray blood. My task complete, I jogged back and returned the weapon to Leviathan. She leaned on it like a walking stick and now shooed away Fefnir's supporting arm.

"You gonna be okay?" I inquired, drawing my own blades again.

She closed her eyes for a moment, took a deep breath, and then looked back at me. "I should be fine; if I resist it for long enough, the effects may lessen."

"You're hard to keep up with, Harpy-boy," Li panted, fluttering to my shoulder.

"Li... where have you been? I thought I must have lost you." I struggled mentally to keep form saying "hoped" instead of "thought."

"I just said! I was having trouble following." She hopped off my shoulder and began fluttering around again. "Anyway, I think that specter-dude from before is around here somewhere. Either that, or someone else with a short-range transerver unit installed in them."

"Phase?" I was on instant alert, despite the fact that the battle around me was beginning to die.

"You mean the guy who hurt my sparring buddy? Bring 'em on!" Fefnir summoned both arm cannons, and although he was battle-weary, appeared ready and eager to fight again.

Leviathan made a slight face. "Down, boy. From what Sage said, this isn't a guy to be taken lightly."

"I'm not taking him lightly!" He gestured with both arms. "See? Both guns!" He grinned like a maniac, but I decided quickly to turn my attention from my friend to more pressing matters.

"Can you tell where he is?" I questioned, giving Li a sideways glance.

She shook her head. "He's moving all the time. But I think..." She peered into the crowd. "I think he's coming to us, so I guess you won't have to worry about finding him."

"How long has he been out here? Was he on the field the entire time?" I made sure that my sabers were ready.

"I don't think so; I haven't detected anything of the like until now." She made a face. "Coward; he's just been hiding the whole battle."

_Coward indeed. Even the way he fights lacks any and all aspects of honor. Unfortunately, that means he's ruthless and lacking morals, which makes him a dangerous foe. _I thought I glimpsed a pale, narrow face in the masses of reploids around me, but was not sure if I had really seen him or if my imagination was giving me images simply because I was thinking about it. Suddenly, I felt a presence behind me. _Please be Fefnir... _I knew better.

The impact of a large claw sent me sprawling before I could entirely turn around. I picked myself up off the ground, scrambling to avoid the next blow, but my companions had seen Phase's appearance and moved to intercept him before he could follow up. The white-caped reploid vanished, as per tradition, and teleported to stand behind Fefnir. Unfortunately for him, Leviathan, although barely conscious, was still at an angle where she could see and attack, and she did so with a vengeance. The spear punctured partway into his armor, although not very deeply, and he turned around and struck her instead.

"They're coverin' their retreat," Fefnir called to me. He stepped away from Phase and fired at him, but the white reploid vanished again. We awaited his reappearance anxiously, but after a moment, Fefnir glanced around, confused. "Where'd he go?"

"He's a coward," I ground. "He would rather hide than face his enemies."

Leviathan groaned and tried to pick herself up off the ground, but was too weak to do so. I hoisted her up, grabbing her just under the arms, and supported her on my shoulder. "Whether the battle's dying or not, we need to get her out of here."

Fefnir took her from me and easily lifted her up. "Will do. I can try to trans back to base, but coming back may be a trick."

I glanced around again. "I think that'll be okay. I-" A low rumble cut me off and shook the ground, causing me to stumble forward. Fefnir, a bit more sure-footed, planted his feet wide and looked toward the caves.

"Ah," Leviathan mumbled from his arms. "What's going on?"

"The tunnels... I muttered. And then with a bit of alarm, "Kuwagust Anchus took a team of his best men in there!"

Fefnir swore under his breath. "I'd check it out, but I've got to get her back to base." He nodded at Leviathan.

"Go. I'll go see what happened." I spied a nearby ATV and jumped, timing it perfectly to kick the driver off and gash his throat open with a saber. With my stolen vehicle, I veered back and forth through the scattered enemy forces in the general direction of the disturbance.

A cloud of dust was curling out from the tunnel entrance, spreading lazy, buff-colored tendrils into the battle-cry filled air. There were a few reploids milling uncertainly about the collapsed entrance- too few, if I were to venture an opinion. Kuwagust was among them and made his way over to me very quickly. I imagined that he would have looked nervous, had his abstract features been capable of showing emotions.

"What happened?" I barked, not caring to bother with any amount of etiquette. I cast a steely gaze over the destroyed cave, the small group of ravaged forces, and then back at the insectoid reploid before me. "Did I not warn you of the possibility of a cave in?"

He looked at the ground. "Yes, Master, you did. And you were right; they destroyed many of their own allies in the process."

I blew out a frustrated breath and scraped my teeth over my lower lip before I realized what I was doing and closed my mouth. "How great a number of your forces did you lose to this... incident?"

"Thirty-two good men, sir," he replied, just a bit sullenly.

I shook my head and sighed darkly. "Well-trained soldiers such as they will be sorely missed." I snapped my gaze back to the sapphire reploid. "But we will discuss this later, away from the battlefield." I stayed alert, watching as the battle that had raged around me for the better part of the day finally began to gasp its dying breaths. _Where did Phase go? For that matter, where did the rest of the enemy forces disappear to? I know that my army hasn't slain enough to account for such a loss. I know that they were on the move, but to where? And how? A group of reploids that size cannot hide so easily. _I approached the collapsed cave entrance as the rocks and dust settled and peered in to see how extensive the cave in was. The mouth was open, but about forty feet into the tunnel, a wall of debris blocked my view, and I could assume by the size of some of the chunks of ceiling that the blockage may have gone on for several hundred feet or more. _If there are survivors in there, trying to dig through the rubble would only cause them greater risk by further collapse. It would also cost us resources that we do not have. As cruel as it sounds, they must save themselves, assuming anyone's alive at all. _Abruptly, I turned away and strode past Kuwagust to the ATV I had parked.

"Take your remaining men and clean up," I instructed without even honoring him with a glance. "This battle is nearly won; to be careless now would be a foolish mistake." I started the engine and paused to look at Li, who had been following me silently for some time.

"Li, you can normally detect energy trails left by transerver activity, correct?"

"Of course!" She perched on the right handlebar of the ATV.

"Have you detected large numbers of reploid teleportation at all, especially within the last hour?"

She shrugged. "Not... really. I mean, there's been some, but nothing huge."

"Hnn..." I revved the engine, a small warning to the cyber-elf that her present residence would probably be best vacated at this point. She hovered up to my shoulder and I gunned the gas, flying past the last few straggling fights and watching intently as I went. "I need to think," I muttered irritably. "I'm tired of nothing adding up."

"Are you talking to yourself?" Lei called into my ear over the motor's roar.

"No," I lied curtly. _I think the stress is getting to me. _As I drove, I realized that most of the soldiers I saw were the Jin'en forces, and the occasional Meikai fighter. The Rekku army was perched above on the cliffs, watching and waiting for any surprises. As far as enemy forces went, I only spotted one large mechaniloid tank still functioning, and several lying in smoldering heaps of broken metal. The buzz of other ATVs was still audible, but it was distant, and the vehicles were few. I used the modified chain gun mounted on my own buggy to fire at the last lizard-like behemoth, and it threw its head back and roared. The few remaining ATVs turned on me and began pelting me mercilessly with lead, and I was forced to abort my attack. I weaved between two that were heading toward me as though to ram me. They, in turn, were forced to turn sharply to avoid colliding with each other, and I spun a tight one-eighty and gave them a barrage from my gun. One suffered a ruptured fuel tank and erupted in a ball of flames, while the other managed to juke around several groups of my men, depriving me of clear shot. Looking over my shoulder at the mechaniloid tank, I saw that it had begun to move on, and I took off after it, ignoring the trailing ATVs for the time being. Their shots kicked up dust on the ground beside and behind me, but as I wove around wreckage and still living-reploids, I avoided taking a hit.

Once I had a clean shot, I began firing on the lizard tank again, scattering bullets across its flank. The ATVs behind me, lacking a clear target, began shooting at me anyway, mowing down many of my soldiers and several of their own in the process. _This is going nowhere. The chain gun doesn't seem to do much to the mechaniloid other than irritate it, but I have no other weapon I can combat it with. I know that several somehow got away, but the fewer the better. _I debated crashing the ATV into it the same way I had destroyed the demi-dragon with the land chaser. _If my men attack immediately when it falls, it should work, but I need to tell them what they're supposed to do first._

I activated my com, hoping that, by some chance, we were no longer being blocked. I received an earful of static._ I should have figured..._

"They must be covering their retreat!" Li deduced, although I did not need her to tell me that.

"Then I'll just have to hope my men figure this out on their own," I answered through gritted teeth, forcing the ATV into a sharp turn to set it on a collision course with the walking tank's left hind leg. I leapt off and landed in a crouch, purposely not using my boosters since the fuel tanks were so dangerously low that they would probably have given out anyway. The vehicle, which I had previously pushed to its top speed, crashed into the beast, and its knee buckled, causing it to stumble and fall, but it quickly recovered itself and began moving again. I bit back a curse at the ineffectual flop of a plan. Turning, I spied one of the few remaining enemy soldiers retreating across the canyon, and angrily threw one saber at him. The spinning blade severed one leg, and he fell with a cry. Before he could figure out what was going on, I jumped, plunging one blade through is back, causing him to jerk and cough blood before remaining still.

"Stress-relief?" I turned around to see Fefnir ambling toward me, his gun drawn but not ready, not that there seemed to be much of a need at the present. The battle was over; I simply was not sure when that had happened.

"You could say that," I replied darkly. "Fefnir, what in X's name is going on?"

He shrugged. "We won... I guess."

I shook my head. "I'm not so sure. I know that we couldn't have destroyed them all; just look at the number of bodies versus the number of enemy forces there were. It doesn't add up. And, if you haven't noticed, we're still being jammed."

"I can't answer any of that, so I'm not even gonna bother tryin.' All we can do is send scouts to see if there's any sign of them in the desert or wasteland."

I sighed. "Once my jets are refueled, I'll head out" I turned as though to walk away, but he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, no you don't. You get your sleep and food-deprived self back to base and rest up." He glared at me with his unnerving red eyes. "You're a regular workaholic, Harpuia. Slow down before you start coming apart at the seams."

I glared back. "I am your superior; you cannot tell me what to do."

"I'm your friend, so I can too. He paused. "Anyway, I have the med-center taking care of Leviathan." He smirked. "I suspect she'll give 'em heck when she wakes up."

"How is she?"

He tried and failed to hide his concern behind a nonchalant grin. "I'm sure she'll be fine." Something told me that the reassurance was more for himself than for me.

"Well," I sighed, "when she eventually comes around, remind me to make sure that Mayu's not still there."

He chuckled. "Right. But seriously; go back to base now; I'll finish up here."

"You're tired, too. I'm staying until this is over." I folded my arms over my chest, giving him the look that said "no argument."

The bleak look in his eyes betrayed the truth, but he denied it anyway. "I'm perfectly fine. Besides, there's hardly anything to clean up here. We could just send the scouts and have them radio us at the base if they find something."

"We're being jammed, remember?" I reminded him sardonically.

"Well... yeah, but my men are working on finding a frequency that isn't affected by the jamming signal."

"All right," I conceded. "If they are successful in finding a usable channel, then you and I can both go back to the base. Until then, I, at least, am staying."

He smiled wanly in his defeat. "But I _do _think we need some fresh soldiers out here for the work; these guys're beat. I know there was still plenty on base, just in case anything came up there. We'll just trade these guys for some of them."

"That I'll agree to. But we still need to wait for an available communication frequency."

Fefnir glanced around. "Uh... what happened to that tank you were trying to take out?"

I followed his gaze. It was gone. "Blast." I said the word with little feeling, barely even having the energy to be annoyed with myself for being so easily distracted.

"Master Fefnir! We fixed the frequency. Communications should be up now!" Arcan jogged up, waving a com link.

"First, stop with the "Master" thing. Harpuia may like the title, but it makes me feel like an old guy." I shot him a warning look. "Second, if the com's up, what'd ya run all the way over here for?"

"Uh..." Arcan puzzled over this for a few moments. "Just in case it didn't work?"

I felt like slapping my forehead. Fefnir did, and answered, "If it didn't work, then there would be nothing to _tell _me." He looked at me helplessly, mouthing, "why me?"

I stepped forward, narrowing my eyes dangerously, although I could see a bit of humor in the situation. "Do you not _think?" _I snapped. "That sort of poor deduction could get you killed on the battlefield."

Arcan shrank back and stuttered. "Well, I mean, I- I-"

"If you have something to say, spit it out." I crossed my arms.

"Well, the coms won't work unless they're set to the right frequency, so I had to tell you first..."

"Well, why didn't you say so!" Fefnir grumbled. "Yer a great kid, but..." He pointed to his head. "Are you sure everything's connected up here?"

"Go inform anyone you see of the new frequency. When we have full communications again, then you may return to base and go off-duty for the rest of the day."

After giving us the frequency, Arcan jogged off, probably happy to be away from me.

"You're harsh, Harp," Fefnir grunted.

"Don't call me that. Come on, we need to inform anyone we see of the new channel so they will be in full communications for cleanup and scouting."

Half an hour later, I was finally back at the base, sitting irritably in the medical center as my wounds were tended to. My shoulder was by far the worst, and it was all I could do not to ask to be shut down while the medical staff worked on it.

"That looks painful." Mayu, clothed in civilian garb, walked casually into the med-center. "How can you stand it?"

I winced as a particularly sensitive spot was prodded. "It's not easy," I admitted. "I take it you're feeling better?"

She shrugged and then made a face as the gesture apparently caused her pain. "I don't think they would've released me yet, but there were a lot of injured coming in. I wasn't exactly on death's door; just really, _really _sore."

I grunted in pain as the medic attempted to re-wire my shoulder. "In that case, maybe you shouldn't be down here; I'm assuming they at least gave you quarters?"

She nodded once. "Yeah. But I'm not good at sitting around, especially when I think a friend may be hurt." She looked around the med-center. "I don't see Fefnir or Leviathan anywhere; they okay?"

I shook my head, causing the medical staff to grumble. "Leviathan's not. She's beyond the partition on the other side. I think Fefnir is hovering around nearby."

She hissed between her teeth. "Isn't that area for the 'serious' patients?"

I nodded once, doing so gingerly so as not to annoy the reploid who was working on my arm. "I'm not sure how bad she actually is. She was stabbed by a 'stinger' of sorts, and it apparently injected something into her that shut down her systems." I sighed. "I just hope it isn't potent- or permanent."

Mayu stared off toward the other part of the room. "...She'll be fine," she said lamely.

_Ironic she'd say that. She really wouldn't have a clue. _I watched the fast-paced bustle about the room for a moment before snapping my attention back to the dark-haired girl. _Again, I'm so used to seeing her in armor. _"Not used to seeing you in civies," I mumbled aloud. "Guess it'll take some getting used to."

"Yeah, but it's kinda nice not to have to pretend anymore."

I was silent again for a moment and finally nodded toward the door. "Well, your concern is greatly appreciated, but now may not be an... appropriate time to be visiting the medical ward. There's really too much going on now."

"You're right," she signed, turning to walk away. "I guess I just... didn't want to have to wait to see if everyone's okay."

"Understandable."

After she left, I realized that I wished she had not had to. Talking had gotten my mind somewhat off the pain that the repairs were causing, and now the only things to occupy my mind were thoughts and worries about my comrades and future battles. I managed to work myself into a semi-daze with my mental meanderings, although I quickly snapped out of it when the medic informed me that she had finished and that I should go to my quarters and rest. I nodded as though I agreed fully and left the packed medical ward- and headed straight for the transerver to go back to the battlefield.

"How did I guess," said a familiar voice wryly from just inside the door. "I really don't think the med staff would approve."

"Hypocrite," I muttered over my shoulder to Mayu. "You're supposed to be resting, too. You're human; I know you didn't heal that fast."

"At least I'm not trying to run off. You seriously need to slow down, Sage." She glanced around to be certain that no one was listening to her address me so casually. "I know your men need you, but right now, for this situation, I'm pretty sure they can handle it. Show a little faith in your soldiers." She grinned slightly "Well, now I've said my piece; I think I should probably rest, or I'll never get back to the Resistance."

I nodded and glanced uncertainly at the transerver pad, now undecided. My inclination was always to jump into the thick of things, where I felt I was needed, but I knew I could not be everywhere at once, and my men had to be fine on their own at times, too...

"Master Harpuia?" an operator questioned, snapping me out of my reverie. "Will you be going to Pinnacle Canyon?"

"Hmmm..." I was about to say yes when Fefnir came stomping into the room.

"You going back there to get your brain, which you apparently left behind?" I expected him to crack a smile at his immature joking, but his expression remained quite serious, and I looked at him curiously.

"Please elaborate, if you feel so inclined," I answered mundanely.

"You keep runnin' yourself into the ground, and Neo Arcadia ain't gonna have a leader," he snorted. "I sure as heck don't want to attempt it, and if Leviathan takes charge, I'm leaving the country, so yer stuck, Harpuia, and I won't let you get out of it so easily."

I sighed. "What are you babbling about, Fefnir?"

"You know bloody well what I'm 'babbling' about. You. Here. Leaving. And you shouldn't be. True, they need their leader, but not necessarily breathing down their necks all the time."

"You have an... interesting way of putting things," I muttered ironically. "You're either trying to make me mad- and doing a poor job of it- or trying to make me not go- and doing an equally poor job of it."

"I'm tryin' to make you _think. _I thought you were supposed to be _good _at that."

"Yeah, well..." I frowned. "Maybe I do too much."

"Now there's a thought." He replaced his dark expression with a grin. "So anyway... step away from the transerver and nobody gets hurt."

"Now Fefnir, it's not like you to worry about your personal safety."

He frowned again. "Look, I know I'm cracking jokes, but I'm really _not _goofing around. I know when the med staff tells you to 'rest up,' you typically ignore them, but this time, I think you're taking it too far. If there's a real problem, you'll get your butt kicked in the state you're in, and if there's not, then there's no sense in you runnin' all the way back out there in the first place."

I shook my head. "You make sense, I suppose, and yet I can't make heads or tails of your reasoning. If something _does_ go majorly wrong, then who's going to be there to do something about it?"

He smiled easily, although I could see some of the fatigue behind his eyes. "Me. I'll be draggin' Arcan and Cerussite along, too, just in case, but I doubt we'll even be needed except for grunt work.

"Are you kidding? You're as exhausted as the rest of us. I'm sure Arcan is, too. And Cerussite... well..."

"Who knows," Fefnir finished for me in regards to the enigmatic warrior. "Anyway, yeah, we'll oversee things. And I'm better off than you, at the moment. Sure, the med center patched you up, but your body won't heal completely until you give it a chance to."

I finally relented, slumping against the wall. "Fine. Go and do what you've gotta do." I shot him a meaningful glare. "But if _anything_ comes up, whether it's an unusual discovery or a surprise attack, or whatever, contact me _immediately_."

Fefnir gave me a sarcastic, informal salute. "Yes sir, Mr. Master. Whatever you say!"

I glowered. "Watch it. Battle-weary or not, I could still take you."

His jaunty smile remained securely in place as he sauntered up to the teleportation pad and signaled the operator to wait until his two charges had arrived.

A moment later, Cerussite strode smoothly onto the raised platform, with an incessantly jabbering Arcan at his heels, whom he very thoroughly ignored.

"Yeah, hurry up," Fefnir chided. "We wanna get this over before we lose all the daylight." The three teleported in rapid succession, and I no longer had a reason to stay in the transerver station. I felt a presence settle on my shoulder as I was leaving.

"I thought maybe I'd finally lost you," I muttered to the red-haired pixie. "Do you truly have nothing better to do?"

She let out a hefty sigh and crossed her arms, not quite as bright and cheerful- and obnoxious- as usual. "I don't get it; why do we keep fighting?"

"Because it's a war," I answered without feeling. "That's what happens in a war. You fight."

"But... why? I don't get it." She hovered up onto my head and leaned against a fin.

"To protect," I said simply, entering the elevator and slapping the button for the third floor.

She was quiet until the doors opened again. "Well, will it ever stop?"

I caught a dim reflection of myself in the dull metal wall; haggard, worn, hollow... "I hope so, Li. I really do."

I entered the familiar confines of my office and attacked the cluttered mess of papers on my desk. Battles were fought and won or lost, comrades and enemies came and went... but these days, it seemed that everything begun and ended with paperwork.


End file.
